RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — 8News is your local election headquarters. Leaders in Virginia are rallying to make sure voters are kept informed and up to date on key issues before the Nov. 5 election.  On Tuesday, Sept. 17, several leaders, officials and analysts gathered at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) campus to make sure students and others get the message.    Several first-time voters attended the Tuesday evening Elections 2024: The Importance of Listening to the People" Wilder Symposium at the W.E. Singleton Center for the Performing Arts.   The political experts said that while many new voters are looking forward to participating in their first election, there are things they want to know more about. The topic of Tuesday's symposium was the importance of people-first government, and leaders addressed the issues that residents see and experience across the Commonwealth.  "Consistently, we're seeing cost of living as being the number one issue, second to reproductive rights and then third across the board is immigration. The issues that Virginians see as important are consistently pointed out,” said Dr. Robyn McDougle, laying out the priorities of Virginia voters.  McDougle is the Associate Dean of Research and Outreach at the Wilder School of Government Affairs. McDougle was just one of the panelists for the symposium at VCU on the importance of leadership by listening and responding to the needs of the people. Among the panelists were L. Douglas Wilder, 66th governor of Virginia, and the first black elected governor.  "I think the people of Virginia are more interested in who is running and what they are running for than anything else,” Wilder said.  VCU student Juliana Brown is a first-time voter and attended the symposium looking for perspective before she casts her ballot in November. “I think right now what I care about is just simple human rights, like following the Constitution, things like that,” Brown said.  After the panel finished the discussion, they took several questions from the audience. Attendees could even sign up to vote at the event if they weren't already registered. The first day of in-person early voting is this Friday, Sept 20.   For more information on early voting, click here.