The Dem and Repub parties would have to agree, and a judge would have to sign off, I think. It would be wise to extend the hours. DC and MD close at 8pm, so voters still have time to get to their polling place. It took me an hour to get home (less than a 4 mile drive).  Election Day should be a holiday!!!

Is there a precident for that? I mean, as nice as that would be, can it legally be done?

This ice storm is a rare event - and everyone should be given the best chance of voting.
They have 8 minutes to decide!!

geez

Election Officials and Poll Workers are volunteers, doing their civic duty to help an election run smoothly.  Yes they get compensated, but the token compensation is a joke ($15 from Prince William County for a 16 hour day is what I got in the November 2006 election).

My wife is a volunteer again this year, she was up and out of the house by 5:30am to be at the precinct and setting up by 6:00am.  If everything goes perfectly smoothly and the polls close at 7pm, their closing out of the machines and sealing of the envelopes will only take them 90 minutes, but typically there are small errors that need to be reconciled and cleared up before any of them can leave.  Frequently they are stuck until 9 or 10pm on a busy election.

I am extremely offended that you think we are paid.
The compensation is such a joke that I stopped volunteering to help out in this manner (preferring to do partisan work for the Democratic party during general elections).

Grrr.... Angry now... must calm down before icy drive home.

Because in Arlington, it's $100/day.  Not replacement pay, to be sure, but I'd say that's a bit more than token.

Arlington County rocks...  sigh.

Ben - sorry... just upset that my wife will be stranded, over-worked, and under-appreciated - perhaps I over-reacted.

If each county does it's own thing, the "compensation" is probably wildly different from place to place.

n/t

n/t

The other thing is that many poll workers are elderly.

My wife and I, and a few others, are unusual in that we actually understand the touchscreen computer technology used in our polling places.  We can handle a long 15-20 hour day.

The other poll workers are typically retired, and driving home in the ice will be risky for them.

I also wish they thought of this earlier because the forecast hasn't been pretty for a while now. Some schools scheduled to close early since this morning.

I don't think there will be enough time.  They have 5 minutes to come to a conclusion.  Both parties have to agree, and a judge has to sign off.  I don't know if it is gonna happen.

MSNBC just called it a substantial victory!

I work down at Ft. Belvoir and needed to head home near Merrifield.  Normally it's a mere 20 minute zip up 95 and three beltway exits.  Not tonight. Flipping on WTOP after spying unusual traffic on the Fairfax County Parkway, Bob Marborg sp? gave me the bad news -- Springfield was a clusterf*ck!  I decided to take the back way but even that was full of accidents at every bridge and overpass. SIGH.

I didn't get home until 6:30 despite leaving work at 4:00

Now this was NOT in the forecast -- the NWS called for these conditions west of town in Loudon and points westward. I didn't even have good soled shoes on. And obviously VDOT in Springfield was caught flat footed as well.

As it turns out it wouldn't have mattered in the case of the Democratic primary but apparently it could have matter for McCain and Huckabee.

I was terrified at a couple of points along smaller, rural roads with little traffic.

The car had no traction at all because the rain had uniformly coated everything and then it all froze.  Result: even, glassy, smooth coating of frictionless surface.  Last bit of my drive was at ~5mph to be safe...  and many of those little roads have no guard rails.

Wow.... just wow.  Waiting for lovely bride to get home safe before I begin drinking.

but the problem more with VDOT or whoever runs the salt trucks than with the parties.  Dulles Toll Road always gets very dicy whenever the least bit of freezing rain comes in.  Same thing with Springfield Interchange apparently.  

Took me 1:50 to get from McLean to Dulles, but after that, clear sailing to the west.

I voted at 7:00...a.m.