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True Story: I Was an Election Official

Patch's columnist worked the polls on Super Tuesday.

This past Election Day, I awoke at 3:45 a.m. to prepare for my first stint as an election official. Showered, shaved, brushed the teeth, composed some poetry to my still-asleep wife and arrived at my polling station 5:00 a.m. Yep, that’s FIVE in the freaking morning.  We had to get there that early because the polls open at 6 a.m. and our task was to make sure that all of the ballot machines were in proper order, all the signs explaining the voting process were taped to the cinder block walls, and parking slots were made available. We took our oath and performed various other tasks. This process is very serious stuff and our tasks were in big booklets with pages of instructions from the state and county. Then, promptly at 6, our election …

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Mount Vernon Votes for Romney in GOP Primary

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney won the majority of votes in Mount Vernon.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney swept Mount Vernon in Tuesday's Republican presidential primary elections, winning in all three precincts. Romney took the highest percentage of votes in the Westgate precinct, winning 75 percent of the vote over Texas Rep. Ron Paul. In this year's Republican primary, voter turnout in the Mount Vernon District was 6.6 percent; slightly lower than 2008, when the district saw a 10.3 percent voter turnout. In Fairfax County, accordng to final unofficial results, Romney carried a 30-point lead over Paul, winning with 65 percent of votes to Paul’s 35 percent. In all, slightly more than 38,000 of almost 704,000 total registered voters in the county showed up at the polls, a turnout of 5.4 percent. In the …

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VIDEO: George Allen Votes in Mount Vernon

U.S. Senate candidate visited four Northern Virginia polling places.

U.S. Senate candidate, former Virginia Gov. George Allen (R) visited his home polling precinct to cast his vote in Tuesday's Republican presidential primary. Allen cast his ballot at Washington Mill Elementary School. His wife, Susan, voted earlier Tuesday. Allen visited polling places in Herndon, Manassas, and Sterling before catching up with voters and campaign volunteers in Alexandria. "Normally I vote here early, but since I had to be in D.C. I figured we'd go west first," he said. Patch asked Allen if he would mind disclosing his vote with readers. "Yes I would, it's a secret ballot," he replied. "If I endorsed someone, I'd have no problem with it." Allen will run in the Senate GOP primary in Virginia on June 12.

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Will Democrats, Independents Affect Virginia's GOP Primary Tuesday?

Only Romney, Paul on ballot; Santorum, Gingrich supporters could be a wildcard.

Virginia is one of nearly 20 states that hold open primaries, meaning Democrats and independents are allowed to vote in the Republican primaries and vice versa, according to FairVote.org. It's unclear whether Democrats or independents will choose to vote in Tuesday's GOP presidential primary in Virginia -- or what the extent of their impact will be. But it happened in Michigan, where last-minute robo-calls asked Democrats to vote for Rick Santorum. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney won, but not by a huge margin. On Tuesday, Romney, the Republican frontrunner, will be on the ballot in Virginia along with Texas Congressman Ron Paul. They are the only two candidates appearing on Virginia's ballot. It's possible Democrats could cross over …

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Do You Know Where To Vote Super Tuesday?

Virginia Board of Elections tool gives you exact address of polling place. It may have changed from November

The Virginia State Board of Elections website has a handy tool to help you find your polling place. Here’s how to use it: The search results will return your voting precinct along with other information. To get the exact address of your specific polling location, click on the + (plus) sign next to “Polling Place.” From this page, you can also see a preview of your ballot. There’s a chance, due to redistricting, that your polling location on Super Tuesday will be different than your polling location in past elections.

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University Survey: Virginians Not Satisfied with GOP Primary Choices

Virginia's Independent voters go for Romney or Santorum over Obama.

Virginians aren’t happy with the choices on the GOP ballot for the Republican presidential primary coming up on March 6, according to a new poll conducted by Christopher Newport University. Conducted for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the statewide survey shows that 57 percent of Republicans and Independents are not happy with the choices. The university’s Wason Center for Public Policy conducted the survey of 1,018 registered voters from Feb. 4-13. The candidates on the Super Tuesday ballot are former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Texas Congressman Ron Paul. Former Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum did not turn in enough signatures required to get onto the ballot in Virginia. In the survey, a proposed …

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