Voter Turnout 'Very Low'

Voter turnout in today's GOP primary election for the vacated Virginia United States Senate seat has been low and it's not expected to get much better. At least nothing like precinct chiefs are expecting in November. 

Precinct Chief Susan Reed said just 70 of the 5089 registered voters had shown up by 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at the city's largest precinct.

But the rain and busyness of the end of the school year did not keep Del. Jackson Miller (R-Manassas) away from the polls. He showed up at Jennie Dean school to cast his vote mid-morning Tuesday.

Reed said the electronic voting machines and poll books make life easier for poll workers, and Deputy Registrar with the City of Manassas Ann Marie Bausch said there'd been no issues reported at any of the city's five precincts.

"I voted personally today and everything went smoothly," Bausch said.

Bausch said voter turnout has been slow for the GOP primary election but they are hoping for more and more throughout the day.

Reed said she expects a very low turnout because it is a primary election that a lot of people don't know much about. One woman showed up to vote but was disappointed when her candidate wasn't on the ballot.

The city's five voting precincts are all located in city schools. in part because voter turnout was expected to be so low. The school board was informed of the primary two weeks before the meeting, and some schools had scheduled events such as an awards ceremony and a field day on June 12.

Reed said there were no parking issues today at Jennie Dean but said she believes there might be issues during the presidential election in November because of the limited amount of parking spaces at the school.

She recalled the lines during the 2008 presidential election snaked around the inside of the school's gymnasium, as well as around the front of the school.

"People were patient," she said. "But we did have one woman go into labor and another who went into diabetic shock, so we had to call an ambulance."

Today, the only issues we can report is a bird managed to get into the precinct. But no harm done. It was some excitement for the poll workers who have reported 45 minute lulls where no voters have shown up.

Polls are open until 7 p.m.