drove to northern Virginia yesterday with his crew (4-5 people) to help Leslie Byrne and Judy Feder. Great work by Jon Bowerbank!

Just got off the 6-9am shift at Lake Braddock / Signal Hill.  Judging by the reactions of those I approached on behalf of Byrne, I'd say it was extremely close.  There were a total of 51 voters at 9am at this combined precinct.

Only Byrne was represented.

Thanks.

The combined Lake Braddock / Signal Hill precinct is a pretty big one, I think.  I don't know what they were expecting for turnout, but the Byrne campaign gave us at least 200 pieces of literature to hand out.  They moved the polling place within the school since the last election, and that may have confused some voters, but, overall, I'd have to say turnout was extremely low.

out at the Vienna metro this morning.  I stopped for a quick chat.  He was in good spirits greeting potential voters and said he's weathering the weather pretty well.  Not too many people taking the literature though - but that's common at the metro stops.

No sign of any other candidates or representatives at the time I was there.

No candidates or representatives where I voted either.  Only a generic Democratic table with lit for all candidates.

For whatever reason(s), there appears to be very, very low turnout this year in the 11th. I hear that turnout will be lucky to surpass 3%-4%.

For comparison purposes, there were 1,100 absentee ballots in Fairfax in 2006 (Webb-Miller).  Turnout in that race was 5.7%.  This year, absentee ballots in Fairfax reportedly are 600, implying turnout of 3.1% this year. We'll see...

A 3.1% turnout in a district with 290,000 registered voters woud equal approximately 9,000 votes cast - not exactly a stellar turnout.  But primaries held this time of year are competing with vacations, high school graduations, etc.  

At the same time, could voters be turned off by a campaign that has been so ugly and nasty?  Of course.  

If I were one of the leading candidates, I would be very nervous at such a low turnout.  Conventional wisdom is that it benefits Byrne, but with Connolly currently holding public office, it may be his supporters who are more motivated.  

Connolly has been raked over the coals for working for SAIC but this might work to his advantage today.  If a chunk of SAIC em-ployees turn out today and vote for Connolly as a result of those attacks, feeling they were unfair attacks on SAIC, that could make a difference in a close race.

Watch Doug Denneny's percentage today - it could be higher than what is expected based on a low turnout.  And watch the total percentage of vote for Denneny and Alexander - I suspect it will be much higher than the difference between the winning and second place candidate.      

A 3.1% turnout would be around 13,000 voters.

that was as of 2006, today the 11th almost certainly has more registered voters than 444,310.

I voted at 9:19am, and I was only the 4th person to vote in the Democratic primary.  The Republican primary had about 30 people vote at that time...

The election officials were all bored out of their minds.

I suspect that having a hot & heavy Presidential primary in February has burned people out?

7 times as many people voting in Wolf-McKinley as in Feder-Turner?  Weird...

But that was my thought too...

On the bright side, mine was the 3rd car in the lot at the polling place with Obama stickers on it.  Keep in mind there were only about 6 cars in the entire lot.

and the official Vote Here 6am -7pm sign.

Not a single Feder/Turner/McKinley sign anywhere.  Ouch.  Wish I had a Feder in my car at the time.

I didn't get counts, but it was heavily lop-sided in favor of the Democratic ballots.

no surprise

80-80 '08!

At 11:15 am, 30 people had voted, 15 Democratic ballots and 15 Republican. I'd expect it to be very slow throughout Arlington today.

I voted at Overlee Knolls in Arlington, turnout was very low.  Couldn't tell how many but I was the only voter there with at least 5 poll workers.  There were two Democratic party representatives in good spirits outside.

I had a choice between an optical scan ballot and a touchscreen winvote (chose the optical).  Is Virginia switching to optical scan?

I was asked to show ID.  I stated that I didn't think that was a requirement, but I showed it anyway.  Does anyone know what the rule is?

MSP

Let's go straight to the source:

http://www.sbe.virginia.gov/cm...

Virginia voters are reminded that under law passed by the 2000 General Assembly, they are now required to provide identification (ID) at the polls, or sign an Affirmation of Identification at the polls, in order to vote at the polls.  The 2002 General Assembly extended the ID requirement to absentee voters who vote in person.

Acceptable forms of identification include the following:

Virginia voter identification card
Valid Virginia driver's license
Military ID
Any Federal, state or local government-issued ID
Employer issued photo ID card
Social Security card
Any voter who forgets to bring acceptable ID to the polls may still vote but, will be requested to sign, under oath, an Affirmation of Identity form affirming that he/she is the voter he/she claims to be.  A voter who requires assistance to vote by reason of physical disability or an inability to read or write may, if he so requests, also be assisted in  completing this statement.

New ID Requirements for Certain Voters

For persons who registered to vote in Virginia by mailing their registration applications on or after January 1, 2003, the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 requires those persons to show identification (ID) when voting for the first time in a federal election if they did not send a copy of one of these IDs with their voter registration applications.  Any of the following types of ID are acceptable:

A current and valid photo ID (for example a driver's license);

or a current utility bill, bank statement, government check or paycheck that shows name and address;

or another government document that shows name and address (for example a voter card).

This new federal ID requirement applies the first time a person votes in any federal election, either on the day of the election or by absentee ballot.  If the voter does not present one of these forms of ID at the polls, that person can still vote, but must cast a conditional ballot.  This is a paper ballot that the local electoral board counts the day after the election, after it verifies the person was qualified to vote in that precinct.  

When the person votes in other elections after his or her first federal election, the regular Virginia ID requirement will apply, as it does to all other voters.  

Was told I needed to show my driver's license.

sorry, it happens a LOT

a little bit annoying, though it probably doesn't matter that much in my precinct.

I have been a Democratic precinct volunteer/ poll watcher for the #307 precinct in Falls Church/ Fairfax for 25 years working at all major elections except for 2 when I was too ill. If you are refused to vote because you do not have what the election official claims is appropriate ID, FIND ONE OF US IMMEDIATELY!!!! We are usually marking off names from Dem voter rolls so we are near the voter role tables or we are passing out Democratic candidate ballots at a table 40 feet from the polling place entrance. (We do not have any buttons or pins demonstrating our pollitical affiliation though because we are prohibited form wearing anything that identifies our support of a particular candidate so do not use that concept to find us.)  But we can help and unless you have a "newbie" the Dem. volunteer should be able to help. If you cannot get a Dem volunteer to assist you, demand to speak to the Head Election Official for your precinct.

I have had to approach the head election official, Rosemary, so many times we are on a first name basis.
For example:
In the 2006, election one of our Dem voters used his government issued ID from the US Dept of Education and was told that was not sufficient.  I walked him back in to the polling place, explained the situation and Rosemary repremanded the election worker who had refused him.

In 2004 my neighbor, who was 7 1/2 months pregnant, was refused even though she had her voter registration card. She was told she needed a Virginia photo ID. I brought the issue to the attention of Rosemary and she reminded ALL of the election officails what the ID rules are. (For full disclosure here...my neighbor and her husband both work for Booze, Allen and Hamilton and were Bush voters.  But as an election volunteer, I feel I have the responsibility to make sure everyone who is registered votes as they wish and there were no representatives from the Republican party to help them.)

Do not leave your voting precinct without trying these steps first!!!

It's important.

Each county in Virginia runs it's election a little differently, but they all need good feedback in training their election officers.

If you notify the county where this happened, and you are specific with details, they can help correct the misconception in future training programs.

Thanks.

but I am in Moran's district, so turnout was extremely light.  For the larger primaries or the general, they put the voting machines in the school lunchroom.  Today they had it in a small room off to the side.

Famiglietti hasn't made any case for himself, and Jim Moran is unfit for office. Kind of makes me wish I was back in the 11th...

you be voting for in the 11th?  

I think he represents the best chance to pick up the seat.

But if Leslie wins, I'll be supporting her as best I can.

You, Eric or I could pick up the seat. This "electability" argument in the 11th CD is absurd.

Assuming we're gonna win is a recipe for disaster.

Chuck Robb soundly beat Ollie North in the 11th in 1994, and yet Leslie was drummed out of office. Bill Clinton carried the 11th in 1996, but Tom Davis soundly beat Tom Horton. In 2000, Al Gore carried the 11th, and Tom Davis trounced Mike Corrigan.

Admittedly, there are more Democrats in the 11th now, albeit with some of our friendliest precincts drawn into the 8th after the 2000 redistricting. But success at the top of the ticket does not mean success at the bottom.

Moreover, if we're relying on the top of the ticket to pull us across the finish line, then you've made a very telling commentary on Leslie's electability.  

I didn't say we NEED Obama and Warner at the top of the ticket to carry the 11th, I just said that with those guys at the top, any of US could carry it.  Let's put it this way, if Democrats can't carry the 11th CD of Virginia this November, we're in big, big trouble nationally.

D definitely should beat R as the presently constituted VA-11 district stands. But we're also voting on individuals and personalities. I believe that Connolly draws in more unaffiliated voters and Connie Morella-type Republicans than Leslie Byrne would. I also believe he would cause fewer Moran-esque headaches for the party than Leslie and would not require resources to defend the seat as an incumbent like Leslie would.

Still, I want to make clear that I don't think Leslie would be a bad candidate or one I'd have a hard time supporting. It's just that on the balance of things, I believe Gerry Connolly to be the better Democratic nominee.

on the merits, although I strongly disagree.  However, I maintain my position that the 11th is strongly leaning Democratic, and that either Gerry or Leslie (or Doug) should win it hands down.

are glad you're in the 8th  :-)

This primary is going to be real close, but as Lowell says, the general election is very unlikely to be close.  It'll almost certainly be a Dem pickup no matter who wins today.

For who?  Corporate donors?

But my point is that I believe Gerry Connolly will have an easier time putting this seat in the D column than Leslie Byrne, although I believe both would start out as a favorite.

And if Leslie does in fact win, I'll be a Byrne supporter by tomorrow.

Any particular reason you say this?

His well-publicized incidents with "lady friends," his shady dealings with MBNA, his shady dealings with Terry Lierman, challenging other congressmen to fistfights, his open hostility toward the Jewish community, and his incident with the little African-American kid who dared to admire his car.

Might be nice to have a Congressman we don't have to apologize for. Read the half-hearted endorsement on this very site: "Jim's opponent is an unknown who has made no case for replacing the 9-term incumbent.  Elections are not about achieving the perfect, they are a choice between the candidates on the ballot."

In other words, "we realize Jim Moran is an embarrassment, we just don't have a preferable option."

but a while back I was curious why Jews seemed to hate him so much, so I checked it out for myself. The fact is that he has never been hostile to the Jewish community or to Israel. He has tangled several times with AIPAC, and in the process of doing so has said some things that can fairly be called insensitive, but AIPAC is not representative of the entire American Jewish community by any stretch of the imagination.

If I'm wrong, and Moran has been hostile to the Jewish community, I'm ready to be corrected. But I think if you actually look at what he has said, you will see he has not.

if Moran were in any way "hostile" to the Jews or to Israel, I would be totally against him.  He's not.

especially since so many American Jews find themselves at odds with some, many, or most of AIPAC's policy positions. And with all due respect to Lowell, who has taken an important initiative in creating an online community for Virginia Democrats, I really think he's sufficiently obedient to the Moran machine in the 8th to keep spouting the company line about how misunderstood Jim is. I really like the work he does generally, and I think he's got a great progressive spirit, but the fealty to Moran is reminiscent of the same old codgers who have been in charge for as long as I can remember.

In 2001, while doing his dance for Abdurahman Alamoudi, Moran proclaimed to the American Muslim Council Ariel Sharon was coming to Washington "probably seeking a warrant from President Bush to kill at will with weapons we have paid for." He was rewarded with $2K in donations from Mr. Alamoudi who now is a guest of the U.S. Dept. of Corrections (he later succumbed to pressure to return the money).

In 2003, Jim said, "If it were not for the strong support of the Jewish community for this war with Iraq, we would not be doing this. The leaders of the Jewish community are influential enough that they could change the direction of where this is going, and I think they should."

The AIPAC bit stems from Jim's comments that "the most powerful lobby and has pushed this war from the beginning. I don't think they represent the mainstream of American Jewish thinking at all, but because they are so well organized, and their members are extraordinarily powerful -- most of them are quite wealthy -- they have been able to exert power."

It's perfectly fine to criticize AIPAC, I myself have a huge problem with some of the things they advocate. But the "all powerful Jew" motif that Jim alluded to sounds like it could have been pulled from the Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion.

Robert Halber had a point: "There are only so many mistakes he can make before it's fair to call him an anti-Semite."

Personally, I have a very easy time believing that Jim is not an anti-Semite. I know a lot of good people who support Jim and have worked for him. But the amount of times that he gives people a reasonable basis to determine that he is a bigot, is one of the multiple reasons why I think he does not deserve to represent us in Congress.

"Moran machine?" If you knew me at all, you'd realize I'm not "obedient" to anyone. BTW, just so you know, I voted for Andy Rosenberg against Moran in 2004, mainly because I was pissed off at the time about news reports of what Moran supposedly said regarding Jews and the Iraq war.  Since then, I've heard from people that Moran's remarks were taken way out of context by the media.  And in 2006, Moran did tremendous work for Jim Webb.  So why should I be against a guy who's strongly pro-environment, pro-women's rights, pro-gay rights, pro-peace, etc?

I voted for Andy Rosenberg against Moran in 2004, mainly because I was pissed off at the time about news reports of what Moran supposedly said regarding Jews and the Iraq war.  Since then, I've heard from people that Moran's remarks were taken way out of context by the media.

Of course you have, that's what the Moran toadies always say, each and every time Jim's mouth gets himself into trouble. I'm half-convinced they have "The Post is out to get us" or some variation of that meme programmed into their computers as macros. It's never Jim's fault, it's the media or some other large, faceless bogeyman.

Or, if you believe his biggest apologist in the media, Nick Benton, it's a large "cabal" out to get him. (wink wink).

And in 2006, Moran did tremendous work for Jim Webb.  So why should I be against a guy who's strongly pro-environment, pro-women's rights, pro-gay rights, pro-peace, etc?

Because he's a crook and quite possibly a bigot. That's reason enough for me, your mileage may vary.

You're assuming Lowell's "people" are Moran's.  Maybe his sources are reliable and trustworthy, not "Moran's toadies."

The ones constantly spouting off that Moran is a crook and bigot also tend to be toadies for the token Republicans put up against Moran each cycle.

My point is that you have to judge the candidate based on the record as you see it and on sources you trust.  Moran's record in the House is pretty solidly Democratic.  All the other stuff is poorly substantiated noise.

As for the line about Ariel Sharon, I have no idea whether Moran was right or wrong, but there are plenty of Jews, me included, who are not proud of some of the things Sharon has done.

His 2003 remark was stupid, and he has apologized.

As for the remarks about AIPAC, again, the language is unfortunate in the  historical context of anti-Semitism, but Moran's record as a whole at best proves he is insensitive to the Jewish community and its history, not "hostile" to us.

I just think we need to be careful with the words we throw around, because once someone gets tagged with a label like that, especially unfairly, it is quite difficult to dig one's self out of that hole.

As for the part of your response related to Lowell, it achieved its purpose of raising his ire, but it is utterly inapposite to the point I was making.

Best of luck today.

Lowell, any idea how many absentee ballots were cast in the 10th?  Turnout appears to be extremely low in the 10th.  

Just a suggestion - but with a low turnout and so many distractions going on, sometimes the people who are very close to a candidate - family members, neighbors, co-workers, church memebers, etc., are the very people who will forget to vote - a perfect universe for the candidate to be in touch with on primary day.      

I was the witness to my wife filling out an absentee ballot a few days ago.  She has to vote absentee as she is an election officer at Mullen Precinct (they have plenty of officials at our own precinct already).

Voter #69 in my precinct in the 11th CD...

I voted at 1pm at Lake Braddock Secondary School which combines the Lake Braddock  and Signal Hill precincts.  I was # 109 at the Lake Braddock table.  There were 51 people who voted at both tables between 6 and 9.  That means at the Lake Braddock table alone there were 58 people who voted between 9 and 1.  I think Signal Hill is a smaller precinct, but undoubtedly there was a significant bump in turnout between 9 and 1 over the first three hours from 6 to 9.  As I recall, no Byrne rep was scheduled between 9 and 1, and I didn't see any.  As was the case between 6 and 9, there was no reps for any other candidates either.  I think a Byrne rep was supposed to be there beginning at 1pm.

Its pathetic and unprofessional to combine my candidate- Doug Denneny with Lori in your poll...  

...the only reason is that everyone knows this race is coming down to Gerry or Leslie.  And I say that as someone who admires Doug a lot.

with the one that's up there now.  The previous poll indicated that, in the 11th, 26 out of 41 said they were planning to vote for Leslie, with 10 of the remaining 15 voting for Connolly.

In the 10th, the poll went 12-3 for Judy Feder over Mike Turner.

In the 8th, it was 15-2 Moran over Famiglietti.

Believe it or not, 16 people said they weren't voting.  That's sad.

And 1 person said they were voting Republican. That's less sad than the people who said they weren't voting.

Believe it or not, 16 people said they weren't voting.  That's sad.

I thought so too, then I remembered, a fair number of RK participants are from other districts.  We only have primaries in 3 of 11 Virginia districts and a few readers from out of state.

It could be that those people are from the other districts...  do you know?

That could be, but I have no idea.  Let's just assume they're from other parts of Virginia so we don't have to be disappointed in our fellow bloggers today. :)

I'm pretty sure anyone reading this blog is overwhelmingly likely to be voting if they can. Those who said they weren't voting were presumably among the many readers who don't live in the relevant districts. One of them was me.

At 1:15 I was #23.  Poll workers were so happy to see me I told them I'd come back later and vote again.  Only two signs up:  Connolly and Denneny.

...in the 8th District, in Parkfairfax, Alexandria. I was voter #69. There was only one person outside, handing out materials for Republican Amit Singh.

While Gerry Connolly may be a current elected official in Fairfax County, let's not forget that the 11th crosses into Prince William County where his status as chair of the Fairfax County BOS really doesn't mean much.

When I voted at 7:30 this morning (for Byrne), I was the 20th (not bad Democratic turnout for this very Republican precinct).  With low turnout, votes from precincts outside Fairfax County may very well be the difference.

I will say, though, that part of the low turnout may very well be that people are just annoyed at all the candidates.  Yesterday from 1:00pm to 2:00pm our phone rang 9 (9!!) times with robocalls for either Byrne or Connolly (most for Connolly).  That's almost (but not quite) enough to make some want to ignore it all.  If other voters are at all like me, robocalls do less to help the candidate and more to make me want to look elsewhere.

from a few others.  

Has this primary reached an over saturation point?  Between the negative advertising and the constant contact (mailers, phone banking, robocalls, canvassing) to targeted individuals, I can't help but wonder if a number of voters have reached a breaking point and are simply sitting out because they've had enough.

No doubt it's a tricky balance.  Not enough pressure and you don't get your votes out.  Too much pressure and you really piss people off.  We may have found the limit in this primary.  

It'll be interesting to see how the turn out ends up.  A really low turn out may be an indicator of over saturation.

was leaning Byrne and they made the comment to me yesterday "Well, her campaign called me about eight times today and Connolly's hasn't called and bothered me at all."
That's the kind of voter I worry about--if you are a strong supporter, of course additional calls won't push you over the edge, but those lean voters that we need to talk to and convince the most are also the easiest to upset at times. I've also been hearing complaints from people in my precinct about the primary being a gigantic waste of money that could be spent helping people.
I don't feel that strongly about the money or the calls, but I can see how the average voter would get disillusioned quickly, what with the campaigns getting more and more intense every year.

at 230 pm 112 voters
The alexandria democrats  had it covered.,
The mccain lady was too dainty for the heat.

Too all outside workers
Drink H2O

stay in the shade

which is Dist. 10...17 Dems and 5 Pubs at 9AM.  Did convince one teacher to go vote for Judy at her polling place, Floris, she didn't know about the election.  We're scheduled to give rides to about 10 senior citizens a little later - who knows, could make the difference!

I think most are taking Judy's win much too much for granted.  My S.O. was at the Obama rally last week in Manassas, and Mike Turner's people were giving out flyers, no sign of anyone from the Feder campaign.  That should have been an obvious venue for liberal support.  If Loudon gets his supporters out, this will be close.  Hope I'm wrong.  

You can see the picture here:

http://www.raisingkaine.com/sh...

She also had people working the line on the way in. Easy to miss in such a huge crowd I guess.  

I take it all back :)  

They thought the Presidential Primary was it until November.

small precinct, but still very, very low turnout.

from 33 this morning at 8am to 184 at 5:30.  Turn out is picking up at Blake.