CHESAPEAKE, Va. — With Election Day just days away, some Virginia voters say they're exhausted by the constant barrage of campaign advertisements flooding their text messages, the streets they drive, their social media feeds and their television screens.
Sophie Danley, a local voter in Chesapeake, said the repetitive nature of the ads has become particularly frustrating.
"Gets kind of aggravating to hear the same ones over and over again," Danley said.
Jesse Richman, an associate political science professor at Old Dominion University, said this phenomenon is known as voter fatigue, and it's particularly pronounced when campaigns rely heavily on negative messaging.
"Negative advertising, especially when negative advertising is at a really high intensity, can turn off some voters. Can lead some people to just be ready for election day to be over," Richman said.
Danley said she's noticed the focus has shifted away from policy positions toward personal attacks.
"It's a lot of negative. It's not so much what they're, what the candidates are gonna do. It's what they're gonna say against the other candidate. And it just gets to where you just don't want to see it. We mute the TV when it comes on," Danley said.
Richman explained that voter fatigue can actually discourage some people from participating in elections.
"Yes it sometimes can happen. Especially people who don't feel a particular connection to one or other of the candidates. They see so much negative advertising, they become cynical, they become detached," Richman said.
Early voting numbers in Chesapeake suggest the negative advertising could be having some impact on voter turnout. As of Thursday morning, over 33,000 people had voted early in Chesapeake so far this election. This shows a decrease, compared to nearly 40,000 who voted early in Chesapeake for the Virginia gubernatorial election in 2021, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.
Despite her frustration with negative campaign messaging, Danley said the fatigue wouldn't prevent her from casting her vote early.
"I just hope that everybody can accept who's elected, and get along, and that the negativity will stop," Danley said.
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