Photo: Eze Amos
Voter turnout in Charlottesville was down this Election Day, with roughly 50 percent of registered voters casting a ballot. Despite the general decrease in voter turnout, participation in the city school board race was up.
As of press time, unofficial counts from the Virginia Department of Elections tallied more than 33,000 votes cast in the Charlottesville City School Board contest, in which participants could vote for up to three candidates. Even with a slightly higher overall participation rate in 2021, the vote total for that year’s three-seat school board contest was lower, with 31,721 votes cast.
Ballot newcomer Zyahna Bryant garnered the largest portion of the electorate, winning more than 8,860 votes, per the VDOE’s November 10 count. Incumbents Emily Dooley and Lisa Larson-Torres also won reelection in the three-seat contest, earning approximately 8,790 and 8,390 votes, respectively. Dashad Cooper did not win a seat, but did garner more than 6,800 votes.
