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The 2024 elections are viewed as critical for U.S. democracy. In Blacksburg, Virginia, volunteers engage voters and promote turnout on behalf of their parties and organizations.

 

The significance of the today's 2024 elections cannot be overstated. According to a survey from PBS, three out of four Americans believe the results of the presidential election will determine the future of American democracy. Anytime the nation's highest office is up for grabs is a major opportunity for one party and candidate to reshape the country to with their parties agenda and personal values, however in 2024 even more seems to be at stake. Today, an estimated 750,000 volunteers will report to local polling places across the nation in an effort to promote their party or non-partisan organization.

 

One of those volunuteers is Chris Obenshain, who also happens to be the Republican nominee to represent Montgomery County in the Virginia House of Delegates. On the morning of election day, Mr. Obenshain spent several hours outside Christ Episcopal church in downtown Blacksburg handing out Republican voting guides, and speaking with voters before they entered the church to cast their vote.

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Obenshain, a father of three says that his motivation for entering the world of politics is to "make sure my kids have the same, or better opportunities than I had growing up." He also clarified: "I'm not out here today to convince people to vote for me in particular; I'm representing the Republican Party more generally." Obenshain says it's common for voters to arrive at the polls with very little prior knowledge about the races and candiates on the ballot, and raising awareness in that respect is an important part of what he doing today.

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A few miles away, at Blacksburg Middle school another volunteer, Janet Rankin is handing out sample ballots on behalf of the Democratic Party. Rankin, a professor emerita in Virginia Tech's HNFE program, says "encouraging people to vote, as well as to thank them for coming out to vote in the first place," are her motivations for volunteering. 

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Unfortunately, there is some concern nationally for the safety of poll volunteers like Obenshain and Rankin, however, both felt comfortable and safe at their positions here in Blacksburg.

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