Hundreds of voters out early, braving rain, traffic

By Scott Marshall and Laura Clark
smarshall@neweraprogress, lclark@neweraprogress

Published: November 5, 2008

Check out a slideshow of photos from Election Day

More voters than usual jammed some Amherst County polling places Tuesday, although voting generally seemed to be smooth, poll workers said.

A line of about 125 people awaited the opening of the polls at Amelon Elementary School and quickly swelled to 250 as voting began.

But voting was quick. The first voter exited in four minutes.

Most voters moved into the gymnasium within 20 to 30 minutes.

“We aren’t usually here this early,” said Dreama Frazier of Madison Heights, who voted with her husband, Randy Frazier. He cast his ballot before going to work at Central Virginia Training Center.

Political activists handed out sample ballots marked either for Republican or Democratic candidates.

“We live for this,” said Amy Whitaker of Madison Heights, who was handing out sample ballots on behalf of the Amherst County Republican Committee.

She said the line was substantially longer than in the 2004 election. Amherst County has more than 19,000 registered voters, and 1,600 to 1,700 voted by absentee ballot, said Registrar Gary Beasley.

An estimated 300 to 500 people waited to vote at Amherst Elementary School, where voting also was steady but smooth. Voting machines malfunctioned there briefly, as was the case at Temperance Elementary school –– where anywhere from 20 to 50 voters used paper ballots.

Machines were quickly restored to service, Beasley said.

Another voter, Henry Martin, called The News & Advance at 12:30 p.m. to report that when he tried to vote for Mark Warner for Senate at the Elon precinct early Tuesday, the electronic voting machine indicated three times that he had voted for Republican Jim Gilmore.

He said a poll worker suggested he try using a pencil instead of his finger, and that also came up as a vote for Gilmore on the first two tries, but on the third try, registered his vote for Warner. Martin said he had reported the problem to the State Board of Elections.

Another glitch occurred at midmorning when phones in the courthouse failed. Service was restored about an hour and a half later, Beasley said.

By 11:30 a.m., Pleasantview Elementary School had seen about 275 voters, according to precinct chief Debbie Ramsey.

As one of the smallest of Amherst County’s 11 polling places, it saw just 100 people all day during the primaries.

“Usually, we have time to crochet, read books, eat,” said assistant chief officer Ann Chenault.

The flow was steady. There was no wait and one voter walked through the door and exclaimed, “Oh, wow! So Glad I don’t live in the city.”

By 12:30 p.m., Elon Elementary School had seen more than 1,200 voters, according to precinct chief Michelle Maynard.

When the polls opened, voters waited about 20 minutes. About 1,700 people voted there in the 2004 election, and Maynard expected the heaviest turnout from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m.

Robert Campbell, 26, was voting on his lunch break. “The way the country’s getting, I figured it was time to put my two cents in,” said Campbell, a first-time voter.

Former teacher Anita Moore, 56, has voted in every election since she was 18, recalling how registering then required being sworn in on a Bible. She’s concerned about the economy and education, but also health care.

“As I was losing my kidney, I was fighting the system over and over to get support,” she said. “I’m still fighting the system.”

Light rain did not dissuade voters.

Othela Stallings, 83, was driven by her daughter and grand-daughter to Elon. Her health aide help Stallings navigate the sidewalk with her walker.

She’s never missed vote, she said.

“I’m an American citizen. It was my duty to vote,” Stallings said. “(I’m) glad it’s over and am waiting for the results.”

Mark Bailey, Kelly Mays and Joe Stinnett contributed to this story.