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polls open 'til 7 p.m.

November 4, 2008 12:35 am

By Chelyen Davis

RICHMOND--

But he did order the state Board of Elections to publicize the fact that curbside voting is available at polling places for the disabled, and that anyone in line to vote by 7 p.m., when polls close, will get to vote.

Judge Richard Williams said he believes the state should have a smaller ratio of voting machines to voters, and allow earlier voting. But, he said, that is not his jurisdiction.

"These changes have to come from the General Assembly, not from this court," Williams said.

That clears the way for the largest voting turnout in history in the state.

The weather in the Fredericksburg area will be rainy with temperatures in the 60s. The polls open at 6 a.m., and close at 7 p.m.

The NAACP had sued the state last week, saying that election officials had not allocated enough voting machines to largely minority precincts in Richmond, Virginia Beach and Norfolk, and that voters are likely to face such long lines that many will go home instead of waiting, essentially being disenfranchised.

Election officials say they have been reassessing machine allocations on a daily basis, and that the NAACP was operating on outdated numbers.

Benjamin Jealous, president of the national NAACP, said he was pleased the judge "acknowledged the merits of our case" and urged voters to wait and vote, even if the lines are long.

"We have waited 230 years for a multigender, multigenerational, multinational race," Jealous told reporters outside the courthouse. "This is a big day. Stay in line."

Election officials say voters should expect some lines at the polls today, but nothing like the hours-long waits endured by some absentee voters last week.

About 10 percent of Virginia's registered voters voted absentee, either in person or by mail, by the Saturday deadline, said Secretary of Elections Nancy Rodrigues and Board of Elections chairwoman Jean Cunningham.

The state Board of Elections had 538,130 absentee ballot applications, and more than 300,000 people who voted absentee in person.

That volume of absentee voting is "unprecedented," Rodrigues said.

While some of those absentee voters had to wait a long time--Richmond reported up to six-hour waits Saturday--that was partly because absentee voting is usually done at a central precinct.

Today, Election Day, all regular precincts will be open, which will disperse the numbers of people lining up to vote. Polling places will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.; if you're in line by 7, you will get to vote.

Still, this election is expected to spark a historic turnout, and voters should plan for a wait. Rodrigues and Cunningham said they encourage people to bring chairs and umbrellas, because of the forecast for rain.

"Please, Virginians, please come to the polls," Rodrigues said. "Bring your patience, your sense of humor, and know democracy takes time."

They also encouraged voters to check their registration status and polling location online at the state board's Web site, as it speeds up the process for everyone if people are in the right polling place in the first place.

Cunningham said the process of voting will also go more smoothly if people simply ask questions of the poll workers if they don't understand how the ballot works.

This year has seen nearly half a million new voters register in Virginia, and new voters are usually the ones who can have trouble.

"Don't be hurried by the process," Cunningham said. "This is a chance to exercise your constitutional rights."

The two officials said they've been working for months to try to plan for anything that could go wrong--although they didn't expect an 11th-hour lawsuit from the NAACP.

Localities already have more voting machines this year than they did in 2004, and many more poll workers. Backup generators are in place in case the power goes out anywhere, and every precinct in the state has enough paper ballots for 10 percent of that precinct's registered voters, in case of an emergency such as inoperable equipment.

Most localities have at least one "floater" voting machine that can be dispatched to a precinct that's experiencing a high volume.

"We have plan B, plan C, plan Q, plan Z," Rodrigues said.

The NAACP said they may push for another court hearing today if they get reports of long lines discouraging voters, or too few machines in some precincts.

Also today, Judge Williams will hear a complaint from the campaign of Republican presidential candidate John McCain, which claims that some localities--including Fauquier County--sent absentee ballots to soldiers overseas too late for those soldiers to return the ballots by today's deadline. The complaint asks that those ballots be counted if they were postmarked by Nov. 4 and received by Nov. 14.

Chelyen Davis: 804/782-9362
Email: cdavis@freelancestar.com