Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Chairman Sharon Bulova proposed the group, which will address long lines and wait times.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved Tuesday forming a commission that will try to improve long lines and reduce wait times on Election Day. In her request to the Board, Chairman Sharon Bulova said she wanted to address the county’s efficiency during elections, a desire she made public earlier this month. This year’s turnout in the county was 80.5 percent of registered voters, up from 78.7 percent in 2008. More than 529,000 people showed up to the polls, about 12,000 more than four years ago. But officials say the higher turnout resulted in long waits at some poll locations. While some voters waited no more than 30 minutes at peak hours, the last vote in the county was cast at 10:30 p.m. – a wait of more than three …
Friday, November 9, 2012
What it was like on the other side of the ballot box.
Everyone has a voting story. At my work on Wednesday morning, we all shared ours, and then again last night, at a school function, I heard even more. People who waited for hours to vote first thing making sure a Northern Virginia commute wouldn’t prevent them from voting, flat tires and people who breezed right through in the middle of the day. One gentleman told me the story of voting at the Jersey shore, where a hotel became a last-minute voting location and to ensure voter privacy, the staff hastily arranged for an oversized cardboard box to serve as a voting booth looking like the beginnings of a kid’s Halloween costume. Voting is our right and our duty and more than 80 percent of Fairfax County’s registered voters and 72 percent of …
Virginia law makes campaign signs on highway medians illegal.
Fairfax County residents might have noticed a distinct lack of campaign signs on highway medians this election season, and county officials say constituents couldn’t be happier. Posting signs on public rights-of-way such as highways had become a pesky common practice that annoyed both residents and county officials. But legislation drawn up by Del. Dave Albo (R-42) took care of the problem, making all political signs illegal if they’re on public property. Albo’s bill also amended part of Virginia state code that created a loophole specific to Fairfax County, making it unlawful to remove signs from public rights-of-way until three days after an election. But under new law, the county can now form an agreement with the Virginia Department of…
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
A look at the day around Northern Virginia and in Richmond.
- ELECTIONS
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Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Voters across Northern Virginia headed to the polls Tuesday and Patch was there to capture every moment. After the polls closed, supporters gathered across the area to await results. Supporters of Tim Kaine and George Allen gathered Tuesday night in Richmond, along with many volunteers from the state's Barack Obama and Mitt Romney offices. Did you take photos today? Upload them here! Otherwise click through the gallery in the media player above to see what we captured.
Residents in Huntington, Belle Haven, Fort Hunt and the surrounding neighborhoods headed to the polls and waited in long lines to vote.
Residents of the Greater Alexandria area headed to the polls early Tuesday morning. Though there was a slight chill in the air, some waited as long as two hours at some polling stations before work this morning. "We've had a steady stream of people," said Susan Clay, an assistant chief election officer at West Potomac High School. "People are being quiet, and we have some patient voters and it's great to work with them." Residents who were registered in the Huntington area waited as long as two hours to vote at the Fairhaven Community Center on Fort Drive. The line was around the block. Voters waited patiently bringing along books and e-readers, ipods and other electronics to pass the time. Loraine Waniek said she arrived at the community …
Fort Hunt residents went out to vote at Fort Hunt Elementary School and other local polling stations.
The line to vote at Fort Hunt Elementary School moved swiftly Tuesday morning according to Chief Election Officer Kathleen Cassidy. The wait for most of the morning was about 15 minutes. "Earlier it slowed down around 10 and again at noon. Most of the day it's been a 15-minute wait," Cassidy said. Amy Bowman — who voted for President Barack Obama — said she arrived at 6 a.m. and the wait was about an hour long so she returned later. Bowman said different issues brought her out to the voting polls Tuesday. "It's the presidential election so it's very important to vote. The constitutional amendments that are on the ballot, one of them could be very harmful, so I definitely wanted to come out and vote against that eminent domain amendment," …
The bonds passed with majorities of about 70 percent or more.
Fairfax County residents voted to approve all four bond referenda on the Tuesday's ballot by wide margins. Final unofficials results from the Virginia State Board of Elections show that about 70 percent of county voters approved of a $25 million bond that will go towards the construction of a new library in Reston and the renovations of three more within the county. More than 72 percent of voted approved of a $75 million bond that will used to fund widespread improvements to a number of county parks. Nearly 75 percent of county voters also said "yes" to a $55 million public safety bond that will fund new facilities for the county's fire department and renovations in the county courthouse. And about 78 percent of voters approved of a $30 …
Patch will bring you updates throughout Election Day as two former Virginia governors face off for an open Senate seat.
The U.S. Senate race in Virginia lived up to its reputation going into Tuesday's election, as being a tight race between two former governors. Final unofficial results around 1:30 a.m. Wednesday showed Tim Kaine with 51.89 percent of the state vote to Republican challenger George Allen's 47.92 percent of the vote across Virginia. Kaine won by comfortable margins in Northern Virginia jurisdictions, defeating Allen 71.40 percent to 28.42 percent in Falls Church; 60.53 percent to 39.01 percent in Fairfax County; and 65.83 to 33.86 percent in Arlington County, according to the State Board of Elections. As of 1:33 a.m. Wednesday, all precincts in the state had reported their results. Update 11:21 p.m.: Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell congratulated …
Incumbent representing state's 8th Congressional District defeats Republican Patrick Murray, Independent Jason Howell and Independent Green Party's Janet Murphy in Tuesday's race.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Moran secured another term in office, soundly defeating Patrick Murray, Jason Howell and Janet Murphy in the 8th Congressional District. "Tonight was a vindication of the President's efforts to get our country back on track after the worst recession in our nation's history," Moran said in a statement released late Tuesday night. "Tim Kaine will be our next Senator, a good, decent man who will serve the commonwealth with great distinction. Our nation faces major challenges that demand solutions. We owe it to the American people to come together and work toward reaching the kind of compromise necessary to get the country again moving forward." This is the second consecutive time Moran has defeated Murray. Moran will…
Local residents are voting Tuesday for president, Senate, House candidates and county-wide bond referendums.
Voters in the Alexandria area of Fairfax County went to the polls Tuesday to choose a president, senator, representative and to vote on several county-wide ballot initiatives. President Barack Obama, a Democrat, won against former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the GOP nominee in the presidential race. There were several third-party candidates in the race for president, as well. In 2008, Fairfax County gave then-candidate Sen. Barack Obama 60.11 percent of the votes, to Sen. John McCain's 38.93 percent. Fewer than one percent of votes went to third-party candidates. Former Senator and Virginia Gov. George Allen lost in his race against former Virginia Governor Tim Kaine for the U.S. Senate. Allen, a Mount Vernon resident, was defeated by…
Dave Webster
3:28 pm on Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Isis, Fairfax County can't implement early voting. That has to come from the General Assembly. I don't know what the economics are on purchasing machines, but it was my personal experience being a poll watcher that the electronic voting machines had a failure rate that was too high. In McLean one day, I saw two machines that froze up and had to be restarted and one that had to be removed and … more ›