VA Senator Meets Voters, Worries About Peaceful Transfer Of Power

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — Hundreds of people lined up outside the Fairfax County Government Center Friday to vote in the 2020 general election, giving Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), who is seeking a third term in office, a captive audience to introduce himself to voters and discuss issues.

Unlike his previous successful campaigns for U.S. Senate and Virginia governor, Warner was not able to shake voters' hands due to the coronavirus crisis. But he did agree to have his photo taken with many of the voters waiting — six feet apart from each other — in the large area in front of the government center, many for as long as two hours before entering the building.

Warner told the voters, all of whom were wearing masks, that the Fairfax County in-person absentee voting line was one of the largest gatherings he has attended on the campaign trail due to his inability to hold campaign rallies because of the pandemic.

"This is the first year we've had this kind of early voting. I wish we could have opened more of the sites a little bit earlier," Warner said in an interview with Patch. "But I don't think we could have predicted this much interest."

Next Wednesday, Fairfax County will be opening 14 satellite locations for in-person absentee voting for the general election. The number of locations is higher than the nine absentee locations offered for the 2016 presidential election.

Warner is running against Republican Daniel Gade, an American University professor and retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel who was awarded two Purple Hearts.

"Whether these folks are for me or against me, I think it's great that people are out here willing to spend an hour-plus on a Friday waiting to vote," Warner said. "It gives me faith again that we're going to get through all this craziness. I think it shows our democracy is strong."

But Warner also said he found troubling President Donald Trump's suggestions that he might not accept the election results if he is not declared the winner in November. "I'm concerned when the president has said he may not agree to a peaceful transfer of power," the senator said. "That's not the way our system works."

One of the voters outside the government center, Patricia Barber of Great Falls, told Patch that she wanted to get her ballot cast as soon as possible, especially given how President Trump "has been acting the way he has been acting."

She referred to Trump's performance in the first presidential debate and the White House Rose Garden ceremony to introduce Amy Coney Barrett as his nominee to the Supreme Court. Many people who attended the event have since tested positive for the coronavirus.

Barber was willing to wait in the long line on a Friday because she felt more confident that her ballot would get counted if she did it in person rather than placing it in a drop box or mailing it to the Fairfax County elections office. "I'm concerned about it being counted properly," she said.

Warner expressed frustration with how the nation appears to be going in reverse in terms of streamlining the voting process. "I've been doing this long enough that I remember when making it easier to vote was a totally bipartisan agenda," he told Patch.

"I hope this is just a moment in time and that, whoever these people vote for, our democracy is stronger by higher participation levels," Warner said. "I think it was outrageous that somebody was put in politically, not only because of what appeared to be happening in terms of slowing the mailing of absentee votes, but also about the folks who needed their medicine delivered in the midst of the COVID crisis."

In the summer, U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy instituted operational changes, including stricter transportation timelines, that led to massive mail backlogs. Trump also has strongly objected to mail-in voting during this year's presidential campaign.

Another Fairfax County resident waiting outside the government said she was encouraged, not deterred, by the long line. "This is what democracy looks like," Carmel King of Alexandria told Patch. "I've been very encouraged about it because I think it's wonderful that everyone comes out and exercises their right to vote."