As the nation eyes Virginia’s elections, voters in the Historic Triangle are headed to the polls in greater numbers than expected by local officials.
General registrars in James City County and the City of Williamsburg are reporting “moderate” turnout so far on election day. Polls close at 7:00 p.m..
“Turnout is moderate for a year that’s not a presidential year,” said Williamsburg general registrar Win Sowder. “Busier than we thought it would be.”
In Williamsburg about 32 percent of active registered voters had cast a ballot by 2 p.m., according to Sowder. Next door in James City County, the turnout rate was 28.7 percent by noon, according to James City County general registrar Dianna Moorman.
Moorman said Monday she was expecting “relatively moderate to high” voter turnout.
In York County, General Registrar Walt Latham said he was seeing “good” turnout, and higher than expected absentee ballots compared to the last gubernatorial election.
About 38.9 percent of active registered voters had cast a ballot by 2:15 p.m., Latham said.
In 2013, there were roughly 900 absentee ballots cast in York County, but that number is set to increase to about 1300 absentee ballots in 2017, according to Latham.
The levels of turnout could be indicative of which party will have the advantage as ballots are counted later in the evening, according to Geoffrey Skelley, political scientist and spokesman for the University of Virginia Center for Politics.
“There is an assumption that high turnout is good for Democrats,” Skelley said.
College of William and Mary professor of political science and James City County Supervisor John McGlennon said if turnout is higher, especially in Newport News, it could directly impact the race for the 93rd House of Delegates district divided up between Newport News, Williamsburg, and James City and York counties.
“The closer those turnouts are, the better it is for Mullin,” McGlennon said.
Although the election is moving smoothly in the Historic Triangle, phone calls reported in Prince William County are causing some confusion, according to Bill Farrar, director of strategic communications for the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia.
“Robocalls are going out that are telling people their polling places have changed, inaccurately,” Farrar said Tuesday.
Farrar was unsure how many the calls have been made, but said his office had received many reports about the robocalls. He said the ACLU was already working with the Board of Elections to track the calls down – though he admits it could be difficult.
“We’re not sure of exactly what they’re saying,” Farrar said. “But if anyone should get a call like that, we’re asking them to record it so we can try to track it.”
?We are getting reports of calls to Virginia voters falsely saying that their polling place has changed. ?
If you receive a call:
✔️Confirm your polling place at https://t.co/3NmwdTvoHb✔️ Report it to @ACLUVA at 804-644-8080#ElectionDay #vagov
— ACLU (@ACLU) November 7, 2017
McGlennon agreed that the reported robocalls are troubling.
“Anytime somebody’s campaigning extends into trying to deceive people it’s worrisome, especially when you’re trying to deceive people about where they’re trying to vote,” McGlennon said.
Despite the scattered reports of hitches in the election, political scientists across the state say there’s only one thing they can do to understand the election: sit and wait.
“We’ll just have to wait and see what the final numbers show in different localities,” Skelley said.
Polls close at 7 p.m.
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