RK ARCHIVE - Report from a long line: Turnout appears heavy in Arlington

Photo rules at election places (PM - 11/7/2006 9:58:28 AM)

Came across this Va. statute about whether you can take photos or not at polling places:
[note: this is not legal advice, and you are on your own as far as interpretation goes]

http://citmedia.org/...

Virginia
Va. Code § 24.2-604(J): “The officers of election shall permit representatives of the news media to visit and film or photograph inside the polling place for a reasonable and limited period of time while the polls are open. However, the media (i) shall comply with the restrictions in subsections A and D of this section; (ii) shall not film or photograph any person who specifically asks the media representative at that time that he not be filmed or photographed; (iii) shall not film or photograph the voter or the ballot in such a way that divulges how any individual voter is voting; and (iv) shall not film or photograph the voter list or any other voter record or material at the precinct in such a way that it divulges the name or other information concerning any individual voter. Any interviews with voters, candidates or other persons, live broadcasts, or taping of reporters’ remarks, shall be conducted outside of the polling place and the prohibited area. The officers of election may require any person who is found by a majority of the officers present to be in violation of this subsection to leave the polling place and the prohibited area.”

Note also this comment:

Interviews and exit polls must be conducted outside of the polling place and the “prohibited area,” which under Va. Code § 24.2-604(A) is within “40 feet of any entrance of any polling place.”

Nelson County (Gordie - 11/7/2006 5:13:40 PM)

As of 3PM the county is running between 33 to 40 percent. It appears the voter turn out will be between 40 up to 50 percent turnout in different voting places(9 total)with registered voters around 9,000. We only had 37% for the Governors race, so I think we are heading for a record turm out for an off season election.
Heading back out for 2 more hours of poll sitting. Looks like a 50-50 race for Weed, so up in the air at this time.
Al has been getting thumbs up all the way from Danville to his trip to Lovingston at 2:30. Channel 7 out of Lynchburg News was at Lovingston.

Very, very long lines 0700 this a.m. Arlington (kevinceckowski - 11/7/2006 10:00:46 AM)

is true.

The ballot is very long.
Only 6 voting machines.

People seemed pleasant, but a also a bit annoyed they had to wait. Give me a break. Serve some more coffee, snap out of it.

No rain. Will warm up today to 61 degrees, the exact % Webb will win by.

Voted This Morning (Kryndis - 11/7/2006 10:22:05 AM)

I voted about 15 minutes after the polls opened this morning at Canterbury Woods Elementary. Seemed like high turnout. Only 15 minutes in and I was #35 with a fairly long line starting to form. The parking lot was very busy. Took about 15 minutes to vote altogether. Keeping my fingers crossed here.

On a totally unrelated note, does anyone else vote in the same elementary school they attended? It always creeps me out when the place seems so much smaller than I remember it.

was #102 (chiefsjen - 11/7/2006 2:09:18 PM)

in lorton, va

there was no line where i voted at 7am -- but that's because a new church opened up down the road and was also a designated voting spot -- that was not an option in the last votes.

and i turned an undecided into a webb vote this afternoon :)

Lyon Village (Arlington Tom - 11/7/2006 10:14:59 AM)

At about 7:45 I was voter 135 in my half of the alphabet: Lines were long and stretched out the building and down the driveway. One voting machine was out of order, and people were taking a long time to vote. All in all it took about 40 minutes to vote.

However, this morning was nothing like the 2004 Presidential election. Lines were much shorter today :(

Good Turnout in Bburg (Hethwood) So Far (KathyinBlacksburg - 11/7/2006 10:29:33 AM)

Good turnout in Blacksburg (Bburg Middle School) so far. My husband and I worked the first shift outside. We set up the candidate signs and greeted voters with sample ballots. Turnout seemed steady and better than recent elections. It was COLD and began to rain. No lines outside at our polling place. There is plenty of space for waiting under a large overhand and inside.

Kathy, Can you believe this day (kevinceckowski - 11/7/2006 10:49:36 AM)

has finally come?

My hat is off to all in Blacksburg, Undergrad '82. What a great job for Webb.

Your farmer's market was fun to visit back in August.

Hugs.
Kevin in Arlington

beth el seminary rd alexandria report (pvogel - 11/7/2006 10:32:56 AM)

at 7am,"hundreds" were in line, It moved fast, turnout was almost 2004 proportions.
In our grade "A" democratic precinct, thats good news for Webb.

At the Chinquopin pool, where I dropped off mrs pvog,at 8am, the crowd had gone away to work. Should be lighter crowds till lunchtime.

work work work folks, flush out the sleepyheads, its showtime!

Heavy in Poplar Tree in Chantilly (PM - 11/7/2006 10:35:04 AM)

This district broke into the Dem column last year. It went well for Kaine and Caputo.

I voted at 9 a.m. and by then 30% of the precinct had voted, which they said was quite heavy.

Someone had just come from another Fairfax precinct and said the turnout there was "Presidential." And our Webb person said she had driven by Rocky Run (Stringfellow) at 6 a.m. and the parking lot was full.

I'm doing some poll watching later on and may get more of a feel for turnout.

I'm working Oakland precinct in Arlington (Ballston) (Lowell - 11/7/2006 10:44:01 AM)

Heavy turnout, as the following picture shows. The lines are moving but I'd definitely say this is tremendous. Also, it's probably 3:1 Democratic. Awesome!

P.S. Sen. Mary Margaret Whipple was working Oakland for at least 1 1/2 hours this morning. She was helpfully explaining to anyone and everyone that Ballot initatives #2 and #3 had passed overwhelmingly, if not unanimously, and were basically non-controversial. #2 is mainly technical, to bring Virginia into compliance with a Supreme Court ruling.

P.P.S. Sen. Whipple thinks that Arlington could very well beat the 74% or so that Tim Kaine received last year. And Arlington Treasurer Frank O'Leary's forecasting record turnout for a mid-term. Sounds like a BIG Webb margin (40,000 votes?) in Arlington before the day is out. :)

I just got back from voting in N. Arlington (thebes - 11/7/2006 12:17:41 PM)

and waited in line behind Sen. Whipple (I didn't even know she was a neighbor!). She said she thought the turnout at Oakland was huge. The turnout at our precinct (the most Repub in N. Arlington, although it did go for Kerry in 2004) was the highest I'd ever seen. They had 2 more voting machines than they usually do and I waited as long today to vote as I did in 2004.

I also saw a lot of Repub sample ballots in the trash can BEFORE we got to the voting area - my thought was that people took them to look good in front of their neighbors, but aren't really using them :). I asked the Democratic poll worker as I was leaving what she thought and she said "eh" but that turnout was very heavy.

Heavy in Oakridge (distantantennas - 11/7/2006 11:14:15 AM)

Seeing similar turnout in the Oakridge precinct at Gunston Middle School. I got there about 7:30 and didn't get to vote until 8:15. All the voting machines were up and working, so I think this is just an effect of turnout. Kudos to the election judges, who were encouraging people to read the sample ballots and initiatives ahead of time to keep things moving. The line was longer when I left than when I arrived, so I figure that's a good sign.

#235 at 8:30 am (rugbyjen - 11/7/2006 11:18:44 AM)

for my part of alphabet - my friend was #240 in hers. we live in del ray. the line was almost out the door behind us - there were a ton of people, I waited a lot longer than for the 2004 presidential election.

once you get your voting out of the way, don't stop prodding others to vote as well!

chinquopin at ten am (pvogel - 11/7/2006 11:42:34 AM)

Busy at 7am, light at 745am, My wife while swimming said the crowd ebbed and surged, and by 10 am they were parked on king st outside, and a line that formed was moving along smartly.

I am glad I delayed my long awaited trip to Florida till tomorrow, this is awesome, makes me feel like I felt when I was on a jury, just a great feeling.This is the way things work here in america, vote the garbage out, and sweep in a new day.

By the way, My moms in florida says its a strong turnout in bradenton, and weak in arcadis
Bradenton- democrat
arcadia- republican, and never rebuilt after they got creamed in hurrican charley.

Claremont, South Arlington (Ingrid - 11/7/2006 11:54:55 AM)

I was number 364 at 8:15am, waited in line for 45 minutes, killed the time by chatting with neighbors, got to vote at 9:00am. This is a precinct with high democraticity and low turnout. But not this year! I spent another hour and a half handing out our sample ballot, answering car tax questions (!), and now it's on to two precincts in N. Arlington. I am having too much fun!

Claremont School didn't have enough blue voter cards (Catzmaw - 11/7/2006 11:55:54 AM)

for the people standing in line at 6:40 a.m. They had to improvise by making up yellow cards from torn pieces of cardboard. I waited 40 minutes to vote and counted about 150 in line behind me, snaking through the school gym. No Allen people outside at that time. Two very enthusiastic Democratic volunteers and one circuit riding lawyer were there.

I went to court this morning and was talking to my California client about the constitutional amendment. A nice older lady approached me and said she knew nothing of it and hadn't voted yet, could I tell her what I was talking about. A short explanation later she was horrified and telling me she would get out all her friends to vote against it.

I'm off to poll monitor in Richmond. Hope it's the same down there.

Wilson Precinct (Greg - 11/7/2006 11:58:59 AM)

The line in Wilson Elementary snaked all the way back around the hallway -- and that wasn't during the before-work rush, but rather around 10:15 AM. I've never seen it that crowded, even in presidential election years.

I think we're going to see absolutely phenomenal turnout in Northern Virginia.

Greenbriar West in western Fairfax (PM - 11/7/2006 12:16:19 PM)

at 11:00 25% of the precinct had voted; surprisingly, there was a backup of about 15 people waiting to use the machines -- 11:00 is usually one of the big lull times; so they should get up to 50%; this is a moderately Dem district

interestingly, no campaign workers for either party at this polling place when I was there

Looking for a story (Ingrid - 11/7/2006 6:26:11 PM)

Local NBC was at Fillmore precinct in South Arlington looking for voting issues. They asked about the voice mail. I referred them to youtube, and to Webb HQ for the story. I don't know if they browse youtube :-) By the time I left the precinct, they had set up their truck, antenna, camera, etc., looking for a story.

Additional . . . (JPTERP - 11/7/2006 1:19:58 PM)

In 2004 Madison (0035) went 55 to 45 for Kerry vs. Bush with 2,235 votes cast.

In 2005 Madison went 61 to 38 for Kaine with 1,736 votes cast.

I'm guessing that about 850 votes were cast as of 11:30 AM today, so it looks like we'll probably top the 2005 numbers and possibly match the 2004 vote numbers.

I suspect the Allen v. Webb numbers will be somewhere between Kerry vs. Bush and Kaine vs. Kilgore (e.g. 56 to 58 for Webb).

Waples Mill, Sully District (Silver Fox - 11/7/2006 1:17:53 PM)

I opened the Dem table at Waples Mill at 5:30 am and by 5:45 there was already a line waiting to vote. I left about 11:00 am to run a few errands and then go man another table at Navy Elementary, then back to Waples Mill to close. It is VERY heavy turnout so far, parking lot always full and we have had a very irate woman register a complaint that when she tried to vote, the machine registered exactly opposite of what she had voted. She said it took her over twenty tries to get the machine to accept her ballot as cast. She complained to the election officials, got blown off, came out to us and I passed her complaint on to legal. They have the machine number and are contacting the Election Board. If you have any problems voting or know of any, DOCUMENT, DOCUMENT, DOCUMENT, including the machine number of the machine involved, time, precinct, etc. We can NOT let them steal this election!

Big increase in turnout at Fairfax County Woodlawn (059-627) (Doug in Mount Vernon - 11/7/2006 1:54:36 PM)

We had 602 voters at noon in 2005.

In 2006, we had 824. That is more than a 35% increase from last year---WOW.

And it's overwhelmingly Democratic, but of course we voted 70% for Tim Kaine....so there you have it.

AP: Extremely high turnout in Va. (PM - 11/7/2006 2:19:42 PM)

http://news.yahoo.co...

***Reports from around Virginia early Tuesday indicated an extraordinarily high turnout for a midterm election, with perhaps 65 percent of registered voters expected to cast ballots, a state elections officials said. That would double the midterm turnout in 2002.
In Roanoke County, registrar Judy Stokes said turnout in the Republican-leaning county was very heavy Tuesday morning. Two precincts hadn't reported their figures.
"They've been so busy they haven't had time to call in," she said.
Jean Jensen, the board's secretary, also reported "several instances" of what she called voter intimidation in several localities and relayed the complaints to the Virginia attorney general's office and the U.S. Justice Department.
Arlington, a Washington suburb, had seen a steady stream of voters, much like a presidential election.
"This is a record turnout for a Senate race," registrar Linda S. Lindberg said. The race in 1994 between Sen. Charles S. Robb and Iran-Contra figure Oliver North also saw a heavy turnout, but "this is comparable and may surpass that." Robb won re-election.

Just got off the phone with a Webb "runner" (PM - 11/7/2006 2:30:57 PM)

who is very experienced in NoVa elections -- he visits all the precincts to check up on things, make sure there are adequate materials, etc., and he says the Fairfax County turnout is HUGE, much higher than the gubernatorial race last year. In some cases turnout is double what it was last year at this time of day.

Heavy Turnout in Roanoke City (Bobbi - 11/7/2006 2:56:34 PM)

Just checking in...

Wow! My precinct--in a mostly Democratic area of Roanoke City--has had record turnout. They've got 500+ out of 1300 voters--and that's on a cold, dreary day. I've been in and out all day, driving some elderly people and handing out sample ballots, and there has been a small line all day--even during the typically non-peak areas.

Webb/NO have heavy support here. No Repugs handing out stuff at my precinct. I think they know better! :-)

Bobbi in Roanoke City

Definite Webb presence here in Roanoke City (Luciana76 - 11/7/2006 4:40:28 PM)

I was at 2 precincts around lunchtime (voting and parent teacher conferences). The Webb & "vote no on #1" signs easily outnumbered the Allen ones. There were no Allen volunteers at either place & the Webb volunteer told me that the one Allen guy who was there had left around 10:00 AM this morning and never came back. I think turnout in the city looks really strong - despite the crap weather. Roanoke city is pretty reliably Democratic.

Potomac Falls High School (Sterling Area) (jackiehva - 11/7/2006 3:08:48 PM)

I gave up at 7:00 this morning and returned at 1:30. Still VERT busy for a mid-term election. The Dems. outside are greater in number and more enthusiastic than the Repugs. Hopefully, Loudoun County will continue the Dem. trend established in the state elections last year. Already, my fingernails are down to the quick!!!
Go Webb supporters!

Turnout in Yellow Mountain (Clemgo3165 - 11/7/2006 4:19:53 PM)

I was voter number 82 in Albemarle Co's Yellow Mountain precinct today! This in a precinct with fewer than 800 registered voters. Last year our turnout was just over 300 with 60% going to Kaine.

Everyone I've spoken with in the County and Charlottesville City encountered huge numbers at their polling places today - should be good for Webb!

Historical percentages of Va. voters voting statewide (PM - 11/7/2006 4:31:05 PM)

2005
45.0%

2004
71.4%

2003
30.8%

2002
39.4%

2001
46.4%

2000
68.5%

http://www.sbe.virgi...

Allen's Campaign Hdqrs. Has Lost Phone Lines (PM - 11/7/2006 4:40:10 PM)

http://corner.nation...

from the hideous Nat'l Review

CALLING GEORGE ALLEN, CALLING GEORGE ALLEN [Byron York]
More on the George Allen phone troubles: The "Campaign Phone Lines Down" e-mail is being sent out for the second day in a row. "Phone service at Allen campaign headquarters is currently down, for reasons that remain unclear," the message says. It gives several cell phone numbers for reporters to contact press spokesmen.
I called them to see what was going on. And the answer is, they don't really know. "Yesterday, it was something with our network," says one Allen staffer. (The campaign's phone company is XO.) Apparently, the company's entire system was down for a while yesterday, and now, it's happened again. "We don't know whether it's the same problem, or an isolated incident," the staffer says.
Is there something fishy going on? Staffers don't have any reason to think so, but they're frustrated at the unbelievably bad timing of the phone system going down on election eve and election day. If it's just bad luck, it's really bad luck.
Posted at 12:06 PM

Front Royal - Ressie Jeffries (madgranny - 11/7/2006 5:14:13 PM)

huge turnout, more than I've seen ever (I've been here 13 yrs). Webb volunteers there when I voted are 2 older ladies who are active in our small community and know almost everybody (and their business). They said most of the voting was going to Webb! We are a RED area.
My daughter is in Amissville. She voted at 10:15. They told her they had already had as many voters as they had at 7 PM in 2004! 'Don't how which way that vote is going, but this is an area that is growing from NoVA overflow.

Gloucester County (Middle Peninsula-Hampton Roads) turnout (Clark B - 11/7/2006 5:49:53 PM)

I was up bright and early at 6 a.m. to cast my vote. I wasn't sure what to anticipate so soon in the day, but by 6:20-ish I was number 72 to have passed through the ranks. Obviously, it took around 20 minutes for my dad and I to vote (two votes there for Jim Webb), but by the time I was departing, the line was about half the size of the one I waited in. Gloucester is typically right-leaning, but the local weekly endorsed Webb and perhaps that will help.
There was a lone girl handing out Webb literature outside Page Middle School (my precinct) when I left around 6:30. I thanked her for taking the time to last-minute stump for Jim. However, as far as signage is concerned, Allen's outnumbered Webb's by a decent amount (signs aren't votes however!)
It's starting to get exciting!

Man Attacks Voting Machine With Cat Paperweight (PM - 11/7/2006 6:30:37 PM)

Strangest story of the day:

http://www.mcall.com...

A man who reportedly believed Republicans were conspiring to steal today's election entered an Allentown polling site, signed in and proceeded to smash the screen of one of the electronic voting machines with a metal cat paperweight, poll volunteers said.
Michael Young, 43, of 375 Auburn St., will be charged with felony criminal mischief and tampering with voting machines, according to Ronald Manescu, chief of investigations for Allentown police.
Whitehall Police gave no motive, but a source said Young, a registered Independent, believed Republicans had conspired to win the election by using electronic ballots. This is the first time electronic machines are being widely used in a Pennsylvania general election.
"He smashed it with the cat's ears," said volunteer Jim Govostis, who watched the incident unfold at Raker Center, a nursing home owned by Good Shepherd, around 12:30 p.m.

Loudoun County Turnout Heavy (d'moore - 11/7/2006 6:33:34 PM)

As a precinct captain for the past 8 years in what was a mostly Republican neighborhood, things have really changed. We are getting a great reception from voters and the turnout is HUGE. My precinct is one of the biggest in eastern Loudoun and I think we may have our biggest turnout ever.
My Republican counterpart was late opening and just hasn't exhibited her usual bouncy self. One of her workers was asked to leave for interfering with a voter and a Vote No volunteer. She started yelling stuff about men marrying dogs. A formal report against her was filed. The irony is she is a dead ringer for Cindy Sheehan. Maybe that's why she's so nasty, she doesn't like people thinking that's who she is. Anyway we were glad to have a Vote No person on hand all day.
We're sure Webb will win, if only he can carry Judy Feder to victory as well.
Delegate Poisson stopped by and said turnout was very heavy in other precincts he won.

Just talked to my sister in Fluvanna (lwumom - 11/7/2006 6:58:05 PM)

She voted at 4:00 and said she was the 382nd person (the list is usually divided in half, so I would think we could double that number) to vote. Her polling place encompasses part of the Lake Monticello area, and I don't know how many people are registered there. She's thinking most people will vote after work, which is likely. She was offered a Repub sample ballot but kindly refused. She also told me there is a poll on the NBC 29 website, but it encompasses several different districts and required participants to give their opinion on all of them, so don't count on that one being accurate for the House candidates. She looked at the results of the survey there, but I don't count it as accurate....only an indicator of those who have a computer and look at the site. That does not mean that Jim Webb was not leading....just that I don't believe it is accurate.

Haha...My daughter just called with voting news too! (lwumom - 11/7/2006 7:01:51 PM)

She votes in Fluvanna as well, but at a different location. She was voter number 650 in her section of the alphabet and voter number 400 on her machine. She says it raining fairly steady there, but there were quite a few people standing in line. She saw the Democrat representatives standing outside under umbrellas, but siad she didn't look for the Repubs.

Go Jim!

Oakton - Blake Precinct (11th) (Eric - 11/7/2006 7:11:30 PM)

Turn out is stronger here than last year. At 5pm there were approx 1350 compared to a total of 1275 in the 2005 races.

My wife had to wait a little while this morning but there was no wait at all this evening. It's a win-win... no wait and strong turnout.

Funny thing though, the Davis camp didn't see it the same way. Had a call on my answering machine from a Davis volunteer that said my vote counts because "turnout is low". Ha. HaHaHa. Are they clueless or up to something? Well, it's not worth bothering over now. Can't wait to see results come rolling all night. I've got a good feeling that will hopefully last...

Report from a long line: Turnout appears heavy in Arlington

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