Friday, November 9, 2012
Fairfax County Supervisor says group should look at long waiting times at some polling spots and recommend ways to improve.
Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chair Sharon Bulova says she will recommend a commission to look ways to improve the county's efficiency on Election Day. Bulova says she was concerned about long lines, wait times and other voting issues. Voter turnout for the 2012 election in Fairfax County was 80.5 percent. In the last presidential election, the turnout was 78.7 percent (with 72,501 fewer registered voters than today), county officials said. Meanwhile, absentee voting in the county was down 2.7 percent from 2008. Lines and waits varied widely in Fairfax County. In Reston, reported waits varied from a minute to about 30 minutes at peak time in the morning. Bulova says she waited just 20 minutes at Villa precinct Tuesday morning at …
Friday, October 26, 2012
Some people have recently taken to the Web to express some of their concerns about the bond referendum on this year’s ballot.
On Nov. 6, we’ll all head to our polling stations and vote on our next president and local issues that directly affect us, our friends and our families. In May, the Board of Supervisors voted to offer a $30 million bond referendum on the ballot this November. The bond will fund a levee to stop repeated severe flooding in Huntington. Voters will decide whether to approve the bond for flood protection for the Huntington area. Although many Huntington residents are in full support of the bond — including members of the Huntington Community Association — there are some who are not completely convinced. Commenters have recently posted opinions about the bond on other news outlets, such as WJLA and social media, expressing their concerns about …
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
A group of six women from the Belle Haven area have signed up to volunteer at West Potomac High School Nov. 6. The group is the largest group to volunteer together.
On Nov. 6, a group of women from the Belle Haven area will volunteer at West Potomac High School for Election Day. The group of six, according to the Office of Elections, is the largest group to volunteer together and younger than their usual volunteers. Peggy McLeland has volunteered for many years and said she watched the people who worked the polls who she described as her parents’ age. Usually, many volunteers are retirees. People working the polling stations usually help for about 16 hours on Election Day, and McLeland said you need stamina to make it. “I watched each election somebody had to drop out because it is a long day,” McLeland said. “They just couldn’t do it anymore. When I said I would sign up, I knew they needed people.” …
Thursday, August 23, 2012
New voting law changes require voter identification.
On Monday, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) approved Virginia’s voting law changes for use in the November 6 election. Many are questioning why DOJ approved the changes. Virginia has a long history of voter suppression. When the colonies declared independence from England, only land-owning, male citizens were allowed to vote. In 1851, the Constitution was amended to allow all white men to vote. During Reconstruction, the people passed a new state constitution called the “Underwood” Constitution which allowed all freedmen to vote. This resulted in large numbers of African American men and low-income whites voting and the number of votes cast in Virginia exploded. The new participants changed the political landscape which led to a new …
T Ailshire
11:16 am on Sunday, November 11, 2012
In previous years, I had been told no cell phones in the polling place, so I left mine in the car. What was different this year? I could have been more productive (though I did get an hour's worth of reading in). more ›