At long last, election day has arrived in Virginia. What are you seeing out there at the polls?
At the Tuckahoe precinct in Henrico, the traffic was steady, but paled compared to the lines in last year’s presidential contest. A meals tax referendum is on the ballot, but aside from that and the statewide races, there was not much else to vote on — incumbent Delegate John O’Bannon is unopposed (congratulations on your re-election, Doctor).
Consider this an open thread (most recent updates on top)…
Update 17
Results from the bellwether of Chesterfield county…Cuccinelli 50.01 percent, McAuliffe 39.88 percent, Sarvis 10.11 with 73 out of 74 precincts reporting. McAuiffe missed his 44 percent target. But he out-performed Creigh Deeds’ results from 2009.
Historically, GOP candidates need 56 percent or more from Chesterfield to win statewide.
Update 16
Shaun Kenney and I are here at Charlottesville’s WAHU 27, we’ll be on the air at 8 PM. What have we heard? Exit polls do not look pretty. At all. Prepare for the worst case scenario. GOP House seats may be in jeopardy, too (possibly eight).
Update 15
One more from Fairfax County:
We've crunched the numbers and as of 2 PM, of 111 precincts that have reported (out of 238) we are at an average of 28% turnout across FFxCo
— Brian W. Schoeneman (@BrianSchoeneman) November 5, 2013
And Donny Ferguson adds some anecdotal info from Alexandria:
Anecdotal info: Couldn't get a turnout count but my deep blue Democrat precinct was slammed with voters at 3:30 pm.
— Donny Ferguson (@DonnyFerguson) November 5, 2013
And a little older, but from Rick on turnout in Charlottesville:
1:00 p.m. turnout in Charlottesville is 6,400 voters or 19.8% #cville #ElectionDay
— Rick_Sincere (@Rick_Sincere) November 5, 2013
Rick is guessing now that C’Ville’s turnout could be in excess of 40 percent.
Update 14
And these are worth noting, too (from Fairfax County):
A couple of turnout updates – highest percentage in so far is in Greenspring, with 55.8% turnout. Lowest is Londontowne with 13.9%
— Brian W. Schoeneman (@BrianSchoeneman) November 5, 2013
We're still getting numbers in from 2 PM, but generically we're seeing a median of 25-30% turnout so far across Fairfax.
— Brian W. Schoeneman (@BrianSchoeneman) November 5, 2013
Update 13
More Fairfax County turnout information from Brian:
General numbers: Braddock has between 20-30%; Hunter Mill 22-39%; Dranesville 25-36%; Lee 20-34%; Mason 23-40; Mt. Vernon 18.6-29.7
— Brian W. Schoeneman (@BrianSchoeneman) November 5, 2013
More general numbers: Providence 17-30%; Springfield 22-37%; Sully 17-37%. These are a spread based on those precincts who have reported
— Brian W. Schoeneman (@BrianSchoeneman) November 5, 2013
Update 12
And now for a bit of projected turnout, from Patrick Ruffini:
Update 11
From the Richmond area:
Some Henrico precincts have had a heavier than expected voter turnout. How has it been where you vote?
— WRVA Richmond (@1140WRVA) November 5, 2013
And a note from Brian in the wilds of Fairfax County:
Just left Langley and Chain Bridge precincts. About 20% turnout at Langley and 574 voters at Chain Bridge. Also waved at @LukeRussert here
— Brian W. Schoeneman (@BrianSchoeneman) November 5, 2013
Update 10
A turnout anecdote from the Valley:
We're hearing reports of 33-35 percent turnout at various polling places so far today. In 2009, statewide turnout… http://t.co/Nv3ZYcYyXP
— The News Leader (@NewsLeaderNOW) November 5, 2013
The rest of that tweet reads: “…was 40 percent, local ranged from 42-48 percent. Did you vote in 2009? Did you (or will you) vote today?”
Update 9
And for something completely unscientific, an online exit poll, from WRIC TV in Richmond.
Update 8
And the expectations game continues…
GOP source emails: "In Stafford, we're hearing that turnout in GOP precincts is very high, and turnout in Dem precincts is very low." #VAGov
— James Hohmann (@jameshohmann) November 5, 2013
Update 7
Brian’s star turn, talking about Fairfax County election procedures:
Update 6
Via Breitbart:
Absentee ballots are up from 2009. The Virginia State Board of Elections reports 121,000 absentee ballots have been returned in 2013. In 2009, 88,189 absentee ballots were cast. With around 2 million votes expected to be cast, absentee voting makes up a very small share of the overall electorate.
Update 5
And then there’s this:
Conflicting turnout stats frm Dems: strong in blue spots of Arlington & Henrico. Repubs: better early returns in Romney precincts than Obama
— PilotOnPolitics (@PilotOnPolitics) November 5, 2013
Update 4
Hmmm…
GOP source: the precincts Romney won in Prince William County saw a 2% higher turnout rate than precincts Obama won in 2012 through 10 am.
— James Hohmann (@jameshohmann) November 5, 2013
Update 3
Rick Sincere will be on the Schilling Show at 12:45 reporting on the returns from around Charlottesville. You can listen to the livestream at the link.
Update 2
Via Brian’s Twitter feed:
Here's some turnout numbers for Fairfax. As of 10 AM, 140 of 238 prec. reporting, 60,602 votes out of 665,301 active voters or 9.1%.
— Brian W. Schoeneman (@BrianSchoeneman) November 5, 2013
Fairfax is not only a bellwether county, it tends to select Virginia’s governors. It also has a long, long habit of reporting its numbers late in the contest.
For those who want their political news earlier, Shaun Kenney and I will be offering commentary on Fox 27 in Charlottesville tonight at 8 PM.
Update
For those on Twitter, our own Brian Schoeneman is a member of the Fairfax County election board, and you can follow his updates here: @BrianSchoeneman
And if you’re looking for information from Charlottesville, our Rick Sincere is an election board member there. His Twitter updates can be read here: @Rick_Sincere.
