Primary Day: East PWC Voter Turnout Low

In Prince William County, voter turnout Tuesday has been low. But depending on who you ask, the turnout could be because of rain, the type of election or just the time of day. 

PWC Voter Registrar Betty Weimer said an average of 75 voters had voted so far per precinct.

In Lake Ridge, precincts were quiet, with low voter turnout and no disruptive voters.  precinct had 25 voters out of 4184 registered voters in the precinct as of about noon on Tuesday. There were no projections for total voter turnout. 

At , at about 12:30 p.m., there were 41 voters out of a total of 2590 in the precinct. Election officers guessed there might be a total of about 100 voters.

At the , 81 voters turned up by 1 p.m., out of a total of 2683 voters in the precinct. Election officers projected a total of 144 voters. 

Election officers at the McCoart polling place raved about the new computer system designed to prevent voter fraud. 

"Functionally, it's an evolution," Nicholas Handres, Assistant Chief Election Officer said. "This system is working fantastically." 

The Advocate Precinct Management System draws information from the Registered Voter Database, and highlights the name of any person who votes, thus preventing the same person from voting twice, Assistant Chief Election Officer Karen Attreed added. 

"It's really increased our confidence," Handres said. 

precinct had 44 voters as of noon Tuesday. Polling officials said they had a line of four around 10 a.m. and a few rushing to work this morning.

At the first voter turned up around 8 a.m. As of noon, that precinct had 12 voters. But poll workers were optimistic more would turn up as the day progressed.

At lunch was in full force for students in the cafeteria but behind a curtain, three poll workers said 35 voters turned out. The bulk of them came out in the morning because the precinct serves a high retired community.

At in Dale City, 32 voters out of the 3197 in the precinct had voted by about 12:45 p.m. Election officers predict a rush at 4 p.m. that might boost the voter count to 100 by the end of the day.

Republican Primary - Eleventh Congressional District
By Susan Larson, Burke Patch editor  

Chris S. Perkins arrived at Orange Hunt Elementary School in Springfield at 7 a.m. this morning, after voting in his home precinct in Lorton.  Perkins is running in the Republican Party Primary in the 11th congressional district against . The winner of the primary will face Democratic Congressman Gerald Connolly in November. Independent Mark Gibson is also running in the 11th District. He is required to gather 1,000 signatures by Tuesday to get onto the November ballot. 

Perkins Message to Voters on Primary Day

"I hear how angry people are about the lack of progress in Congress," said Perkins. "It's important to send the message today that voting is our mechanism for change, and it's important for everyone to get out and vote," he said.

How Perkins Differs from Vaughn

"We are both fiscal conservatives, so it comes down to how serious is your solution," said Perkins.  "Vaughn's solution is to offer massive cuts to balance the budget in just one year," he said. "My more serious answer is to address regulatory reform over time. The changes should not just come from budget cuts.  Vaughn also supports cuts in defense and veterans benefits, and I just can't support those," he said.

Republican Primary - United States Senate

Allen Message to Voters on Primary Day 
By Jessie Biele, Mt. Vernon Patch editor  

Former senator and Gov.  and wife  greeted voters Tuesday morning at Washington Mill Elementary School, a precinct near their home in Mount Vernon.

Allen stopped to chat with Patch: “Well, our goal obviously is to win and the bigger the turnout the better," he said. "I think most people recognize that the larger the turnout the stronger it’ll be for us. We have a lot of support through Virginia because people know me.

"I had the honor of serving Virginians in the U.S. Senate, as well as governor, and I know the communities and the people, and that’s not something that’s easily done just in a year of campaigning," Allen said. "We have good friendships and relationships throughout Virginia, so the bigger the turnout, the better it’ll be for us. We’re cautiously optimistic.”

Allen faces competition in today's Republican primary for the U.S. Senate from three challengers: tea party member , minister  and state Del.  of Prince William County. 

The Allens voted at their precinct and plan to visit other precincts around Northern Virginia today before heading to a rally in Richmond tonight to await results of the primary.

The winner will face Democrat Tim Kaine, also a former governor of Virginia. The Senate seat is currently occupied by Sen. Jim Webb, who announced his retirement last year from the Senate.

"Just voted for George Allen. Please remember to go vote for George today, polls are open until 7:00 p.m. tonight," Chairman Corey Stewart posted on his Facebook page just before 10 a.m. Tuesday. 

Bob Marshall Votes in Manassas 
By Jamie Rogers, Manassas Park Patch editor  

Under cloudy skies Tuesday just before 10 a.m., Virginia Del. Bob Marshall, a candidate in the U.S. Senate race in Virginia, stepped out of his white Ford Crown Victoria and slowly strolled up the sidewalk of Signal Hill Elementary School in Manassas to cast his ballot at his home precinct in the Republican primary.

“I’m satisfied with what time I had [campaigning]; I can’t tell who’s voting. This is like flying blind with no instruments or anything,” Marshall said of his campaign. “I had a lot of volunteers around Virginia, but clearly we didn’t have the money that (Republican U.S. Senate candidate) George Allen did, but this— at least the way it looks like it's turning out—is a campaign of intensity, not one of name ID. We’ll find out at 7 o'clock tonight how accurate that is.”

Marshall Speaks on Thorne-Begland 

His stance against the judgeship appointment of openly gay Chief Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Tracy Thorne-Begland in May definitely thrust his name into the spotlight, though that wasn’t his original intention, Marshall said.

“It put my name ID Higher. Look— I tried to get rid of that issue without any controversy at all; you can ask Del. Bob Kline,” Marshall said.

The Virginia House of Delegates ultimately voted against Thorne-Begland’s nomination.

When asked if he had any regrets about his actions he said, “I’ll do it again.”

Marshall helped supporters put up a few signs outside of the elementary school Tuesday, as the showers moved in. 

He said he planned to go and make some phone calls before going to an event at City Tavern Gill tonight in Manassas to await the outcome of the election.