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Denice Thibodeau / Register & Bee
Ruth Pearson voted at G.L.H. Johnson Elementary on Tuesday afternoon, but was able to vote from her car, thanks to the portability of modern voting machines that allow people with handicaps to avoid the lines.
Published: November 4, 2008
Updated: November 4, 2008
Check back throughout Election Day, Tuesday, November 4, for Photographs, Impressions, Observations, Waiting Lines, Comments from Voters and Photos from Danville, Pittsylvania County: Reidsville, Eden, Madison, Rockingham County voting precincts. USE THE READER COMMENT FEATURE TO ADD YOUR OWN THOUGHTS.
>>VIEW SLIDESHOW updated throughout day.
Posted at 11:29 p.m. By SARAH ARKIN Absentee ballots will determine the outcome of the 5th District race. CNN is reporting the following numbers with 98 percent of the votes counted at 11:28 p.m. Perriello: 155,706 Goode: 153,863 In the city of Danville Perriello won 11,460 votes to Goode’s 8,317. The Perriello campaign just issued this statement: “We are confident that when all the votes are counted, we will maintain our lead and there will be a change in leadership in the 5th district. People have responded to our message of economic solutions and reviving a culture of service in Washington. I am so grateful for everyone who made this historic campaign possible and for all the fifth district voters who have put their trust in me.“ Our staff photographer Traci White is with the Goode campaign in Moneta and said she hasn’t been able to get a statement from Goode, who’s in a private room or any of his staff. She said it’s very quiet there, and people are just kind of “holding their breaths.“ Posted at 10:44 p.m. By SARAH ARKIN This just in from the Associated Press: “Obama becomes first Democrat to win Virginia in a presidential election since LBJ in 1964.“ Posted at 10:29 p.m. By SARAH ARKIN The Associated Press now says the race for the 5th District Congressional seat is too close to call and they will wait until every vote has been counted. According to the Virginia State Board of Election’s website, we’re waiting on five precincts from Mecklenburg County. Posted at 10:19 p.m. By SARAH ARKIN Associated Press is in the process of reviewing their numbers in the 5th district race. Bernard just got off the phone with the wire service who said they’ll be making another statement shortly. Posted at 9:35 p.m. By DON WEBB The Perriello campaign issued this statement in response to the Associated Press calling Virginia 5th district race for Rep. Virgil Goode. “We’re confident that Tom Perriello has gained the support of a huge number of people across the district. At this point, the vote totals show Perriello up by more than 2,000 votes with dozens of precincts yet to be reported. This race is too close to call. We need to make sure the voice of every 5th district citizen is heard.“ Checking the most recent results on the Virginia Board of Elections shows that Perriello was up by 3,000 at 10 p.m. Posted at 9:21 p.m. By SARAH ARKIN The associated press is reporting that Goode has been elected for his seventh term in the U.S. House of Representatives. Posted at 8:49 p.m. By SARAH ARKIN Bernard is reporting these results for Caswell County: For U.S. Senate Hagan leads Dole with 3,325 votes to Dole’s 1,869 with 85% of the Caswell precincts reporting. Obama has 3,216 votes compared to McCain’s 2,144. Posted at 8:17 p.m. By SARAH ARKIN Unofficial Pittsylvania County results are as follows for 26 of 30 precincts. McCain has won 14,935 votes compared to Obama’s 8,531. Looks like Warner beat Gilmore with 13,161 votes compared to 9,159. Congressman Goode beat Perriello with 14,244 votes to 8,366. Teresa Easley will likely be the county’s next treasurer with 9,699 votes to Kate Berger’s 9,195 and Chad Miller’s 3,202. Posted at 8:10 p.m. By SARAH ARKIN Denice just called in with the Danville results, which have shaded city blue. About 1,000 absentee votes still have to be counted and all results at this point are unofficial, but here’s what she’s reporting right now: Danville voters elected Obama with 10,764 votes compared to 7,411 for McCain. Benefitting from a split ballot Warner trounced Gilmore for a seat in the Senate with 12,584 votes to Gilmore’s 4,489. In the 5th District Congressional race Perriello beat Goode with 10,171 votes compared to 7,299 for Goode. It also looks like Lynwood Barbour will be the next city treasurer having won 7,983 votes. David Giffen pulled in 5,407 and Jackie Wilson garnered 2,309 Posted at 7:55 p.m. By SARAH ARKIN In other news, here’s what we’re getting from the Associated Press: John McCain has picked up a total of 16 Electoral College votes with 8 each from Kentucky and South Carolina. Obama is trailing with 3 electoral votes from Vermont. Bernard was finally able to log onto the State Board of Election website which we imagine is totally overwhelmed and here’s what we’ve got from Danville and Pittsylvania precints on the presidential race. Ballou Park went for Obama with 988 votes to McCain’s 955. Obama also won Doyle Thomas Park with 463 votes to McCain’s 20 and Sutherlin Mansion voters elected Obama with 366 votes versus 210 votes for McCain. Obama won Langston School precint with 528 votes compaired to 33 votes for McCain. Ward 6 gave Obama 620 votes and McCain 62. Ward 7 Obama garnered 1,071 votes while McCain mustered 151 votes. Ward 8 has given Obama 534 votes and awarded 422 to McCain. With 14 of 18 precints reporting Obama has 9,085 votes and McCain 4,925 Bernard says he hasn’t seen a Democratic presidential candidate do this well in a long time. Posted at 7:53 p.m. By SARAH ARKIN Denice is down at the clerk of court’s office collecting results. She reported that the race for city treasurer is pretty close between Lynwood Barbour and David Giffen. She said it also looked like Obama was slightly ahead as was Perriello in the race for the fifth district. Posted at 7:49 p.m. By SARAH ARKIN Ballou Park was practically empty when I arrived at about 6:30 p.m. Poll workers said the day was crazy, but they suspected that people got overly worried about being able to vote, accounting for the droves first thing in the morning. Campaigners were still on hand, handing out soggy information on their candidates. Posted at 7:05 p.m. By JOHN CRANE No line reported at Twin Springs precinct closed at 7 p.m. Voting there never picked backed up the way it was this morning, said precinct chief Merlon Jefferson. Kate Berger and Chad Miller were there Shortly before 7 p.m., the precinct reported 2,155 people out of about 3,300 registered voters. A lot of people had voted absentee, Jefferson said. No line reported at Twin Springs precinct closed at 7 p.m. Voting there never picked backed up the way it was this morning, said precinct chief Merlon Jefferson. Kate Berger and Chad Miller were there Shortly before 7 p.m., the precinct reported 2,155 people out of about 3,300 registered voters. A lot of people had voted absentee, Jefferson said. Posted at 6:45 p.m. by DENICE THIBODEAU It’s 15 minutes prior to the close of all polls, but the precinct poll at American Legion Post 325 has only a handful of voters. Precinct officials say voting has been like this throughout the afternoon, as opposed to the crush of voters seen this morning, with wait times then lasting nearly 90 minutes. As of 6:45 p.m., 1,666 of 2,491 registered voters had cast ballots in person today. Posted at 5:37 p.m. by Traci White It’s after 5 p.m., but only a few voters are in line to cast their ballots at Coates Recreational Center, one of the largest voting precincts in the city. Eugene Moorefield, precinct chief, said 1,247 voters have cast ballots in person today. Another 232 voted via absentee ballots. The precinct has 2,051 registered voters. Moorefield said the use of curbside voting today was the highest that he has seen in his 20 years as an election official. Twenty-four voters cast ballots at curbside. There is plenty of time left to vote, but the rain has begun to fall harder. Polls close at 7 p.m. Posted at 2:57 p.m. by Denice Thibodeau Volunteer Thomas Dee said there had been a steady progression of voters all day at American Legion Post 325. “We have never been without someone at the tables,” Dee said at 2 p.m. Dee also said some voters told him it took them four trips to the precinct to find a parking space and come in to vote. The rain is coming down harder now, and people don’t want to stop and talk – but none of those talked to at the American Legion said they were first-time voters. Posted at 2:52 p.m. by Denice Thibodeau Otis Hoskins stood in the drizzling rain outside I.W. Taylor Elementary School at , handing out material encouraging voters to elect Lynwood Barbour for Danville treasurer. “This is the biggest turnout I’ve ever seen here,” Hoskins said. “Danville is going to set a record today.” Hoskins said when he arrived at 6 a.m., there were 200 to 300 people lined up to vote. “Things have slowed down now, but they’ll pick up again when shifts changes at about 4.” Fran Layton, an attorney who said she was there “making sure what happened in 2000 doesn’t happen here.” She said more than 1,200 voters had already been through as of 1:30 p.m., and it had been a “smooth, problem-free day.” Layton said she first worked on a political campaign in the 1960s, when John F. Kennedy was running; she said the 2008 campaign had really galvanized voters. “I haven’t seen this kind of excitement since the 60s,” Layton said. Posted at 2:47 p.m. by Denice Thibodeau Things had calmed down some at the precincts shortly after 1 p.m. Volunteer Melinda Marshall said almost half the voters assigned to G.L.H. Johnson Elementary had already voted – 672 out of 1,489 (44.9 percent) as of 1:10 p.m. Another volunteer at Johnson said even though the line stretched down the hall at 6 a.m., waiting time was less than a half-hour (said people coming out reported 20- to 27-minute waits). Volunteer Diane Shelton said things had slowed down, but been steady. Despite helping voters for seven hours, Shelton was still cheerful, reporting that the precinct “hadn’t run into any hitches yet.” Watched the drill for handicapped voters being allowed to vote from their cars. Two volunteers unplugged one machine and carried the laptop-sized machine out to the Ruth Pearson’s vehicle, where she cast her ballot. Walking back into the building, volunteer Dave Torborg noted, “This is one big advantage over those big, old clunky things.” Volunteer Gaye Barkley agreed, adding wheeling one of the old machines out to a car would have been impossible. The volunteers were ready for any voter who showed up inappropriately dressed (new law says voters can’t wear anything that advertises their election choices). An assortment of vests, hats and scarves were available for voters to use to cover up infractions. Posted at 2:30 p.m. by JOHN CRANE Brosville Elementary School About 2:30 p.m. Voters trickled in one or two at a time here. Precinct Captain Ann M. Deering anticipates the afterwork rush between 5 and 7 p.m. More than half of the precinct’s 1,219 registered voters have cast their ballots, Deering said. Like at Twin Springs, the county treasurer options were left off the precinct’s three electronic voting machines. Three or four people had voted on the machines before the mixup was fixed, but officials were able to alert them before they left. They cast paper ballots for the treasurer candidates. Turnout has been “unusually high,“ Deering said. Posted at 1:15 p.m. by JOHN CRANE Twin Springs Elementary School The long morning lines had dwindled down to about eight or nine people by the early afternoon at Twin Springs. Election official Merlon Jefferson said 1,470 registered voters - out of about 3,300 in the precinct - had made their choices just after 1 p.m. He said he expects to see from 2,500 to 2,700 by the end of the day at 7 p.m. There were no major mechanical problems among the station’s seven electronic voting machines. Early in the morning, however, ballots appeared on the screens without the county treasurer candidates. One person had voted before the problem was solved, Jefferson said. The morning wait was an hour at the most, he said. “We moved them pretty fast,“ Jefferson said. Posted at 12:46 p.m. by SARAH ARKIN Lines were also long at the American Legion Post 325 around 10:30 a.m., particularly for people whose last names start with letters A-J. Kathleen Sparks said she came in voted within a few minutes, but waited 45 minutes for her sister in the A-J category. John Robinson was back at the post for the second time after arriving at 8:30 a.m. to find the line out the door into the parking lot (after snaking through the room). Posted at 12:15 p.m. by JOHN CRANE At Ringgold Fire & Rescue Station Ringgold voter Linda Cadieux says she did not have to wait to vote and she was at the station for about 15 minutes. About 20 people waited in two lines to vote while election official Virginia Behrend gave instructions to entering voters just inside the door. The early morning wait time was about an hour, said Ringgold Fire Chief Mike Neal. An African-American election official named John McCain said people have given him grief over his name, but he’s not changing it. He declined to reveal who he voted for. McCain said about 45 percent of the precinct’s 2,500 registered voters had cast their ballots by lunchtime. Ringgold voter Stephanie Wilson said this is the first time she’s voted in five years, and her husband had bugged her to vote this year because having an African-American presidential candidate is unusual. Two of the polling station’s seven machines were shut down due to mechanical problems. Posted at 12:13 p.m. by SARAH ARKIN Lines are thinning out at some polling stations but still snaking around rooms at others. Precinct 7 on North Main Street seems to have suffered the most major glitch. People working the polls say by 5:30 a.m. there were at least 100 people lined up around the block. Until about 9:30 the scene was described as “zoo”, despite the fact that there were two extra people and one extra machine this year. At 10 a.m. when I was there people said things had calmed down but the gymnasium at Woodrow Wilson was still packed. Poll workers and independent election monitors say a couple of things contributed to the problem. There are about 2,000 registered voters in the precinct, according to the registrars office, and there was only one ream of paper listing all the voters, meaning only one person could check in at a time. To make matters worse, all four of the voting machines broke down, but only for a short time said Poll worker Delilah Magnum. Additionally, there were a lot of curbside voters—that is, disabled voters to whom election officials can bring ballots. Finally, after a few hours, the precinct captain ‘split the book’—and sent some of the voters to other precincts to vote where there were shorter lines. Woodrow Wilson principal Jocelyn Fitzgerald said she was “amazed at the number of voters.“ On her way to vote with the aid of a walker, 94 year old Ruby Jones, who has voted in every election since she was 18 said she had “never seen such excitement.“ Posted at 11:00 a.m. by BERNARD BAKER Coates Recreation Center It’s taking about one to hour to vote as 545 people have voted, said Eugene F. Moorefield, precinct chief. Lines wrapped through the building and out into the parking lot. This was the second time Glen Davis came to vote. he said long lines this morning and turned his truck around. “I’m going to stick it out this time,“ Davis said. Bill Dyer has voted at Coates for years. Dyer joked that a lot of the people who waited in line to vote will have to wait in line Wednesday at the doctor’s office. Moorefield said two people were in line at 4:45 a.m. The line ran through the parking lot when the doors opened at 6 a.m. Coates has 2,051 registered voters and about 200 already voted absentee Posted at 10:35 a.m. by BERNARD BAKER Park Avenue School Election official Penny McDaniel Jones said 843 people had voted out of 2,361 registered. They had 200 people vote for 7 a.m. “I’ve never seen it like this before in my life,“ she said. Chief Election Official Franklin Barkley agreed. He pointed out that lines have been moving smoothly. Phyllis Marable, 66, was not going to miss this election. “I think it’s time for a change.“ Posted at 10:32 a.m.: by GRACIE GUNNELL News from Brosville - Polling precinct packed at 8am… Lined around the walls.. I left.. I will go back and vote after work today.. Not your normal voter turn out at Brosville. Usually at Brosville on election day I am normally voter 100 or so… Not today…. Posted at 9:24 a.m. by BERNARD BAKER Election official Nancy Cheney said 400 people had voted at Cedarbrook. “It’s been so busy, I haven’t been able to catch my breath.“
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Reader Reactions
How come my comment was removed? Don’t want to hear what a bunch of thugs the Obama camp is huh? Why did I even bother to vote?
Last time I checked Obama had one white parent and one black parent. According to my calculations, that makes him EXACTLY 50/50. Can someone tell me just where we draw the line on ‘blood’ percentage? At what point does someone of mixed race become more or less black OR white?
And what if I refuse to acknowledge Obama as my “Black President”? What if I decide to call him my “White President”? Who is going to stop me??
(hope) should be ashamed of himself (or herself). That is exactly the type of attitude and comment that perpetuates racial divide. He/she is automatically assuming (and we all know what that does!)that all white people voted for McCain and all black people voted for Obama. Apparently, (hope) has been too busy thinking up comments like the one posted to actually watch or read any information on the campaign. All the coverage I have seen shows people of both races supporting each candidate.
If, by some twist of fate, Republicans do somehow manage to pull victory from the jaws of defeat, I got a preview today of what we can expect. At Ballou Park, there were 2 gentlemen handing out literature for Democrats, and I was standing in line, maybe 20 feet away. A woman exited the polls and joined them, and it became clear that she was also a volunteer for the Democrats who had gone inside to vote. Immediately, in a loud and shrill voice, she began complaining that the two lines inside the polling place were separated with yellow “caution” tape. She concluded with “That’s a problem. That’s voter intimidation”. Everyone around me in line moaned and rolled their eyes, as if on cue. It would have been humorous if this shrew hadn’t been serious.
Yellow “caution” tape is voter intimidation? Now I’ve heard everything! Hey, the former Chief of Police was standing outside too. I wonder how she missed this obvious attempt at disenfranchising voters. And there’s this: the guy in front of me looked like he might have been a cop! You know - the buzz cut, the squared jaw, the serious eyes, no smile. I certainly was intimidated! This guy should have been asked to leave!
Wow! Sometimes if you don’t laugh, other people’s stupidity will just make you cry!
That evil, evil caution tape. It must be destroyed. Oh sure, everyone saw it, and no one went screaming from the polling place into the parking lot, but still. I think someone was up to something! And if Democrats don’t make a clean sweep today, you can bet you’ll be hearing more about it.
Posted by ( hope ) on November 03, 2008 at 4:22 pm
Think about it, a black man for president. Don’t it hurt for yall to hear that, its so beautiful to me. Go Obama Go
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Hmmmm. Who is Ya’ll? If by Ya’ll you mean individuals that happen to be white you are sadly mistaken. Obama could not win with the black vote alone. Did you see all of the white people campaigning for him? Why on earth do you insist on making this an issue of race? “Arguing with ignorance”? You have certainly shown us yours.
This day will surely be one to remember.
It SHOULDN’T be about race, but it is. But be real, if that is all you have on your side, what else can you count on.
Change, yea we need it. McCain has a plan we can live with for change. He has outlined many changes needed and is for true, good change.
Obama says he is for change, but WHAT, I haven’t heard any positive changes yet. He will deffinitely change things, try to take away your 2nd ammendment rights, associate with countries and leaders that “hate” the US, probably TRY to make it wrong to salute the flag, uh, OUR flag. He will change our country making it impossible to defend itself by cutting billions from the military (BUT, I think that is his plan).
We will go from the strongest military to one of the weakest in months.
Anyway, I believe there is only one candidate this country can live with; will he win, I am not so sure.
I persoanlly believe there is only one way Obama can win and if this is truely another sign of the end times. All other signs have been fulfilled in the bible, and if this is truely a sign of the end times, no one can stop it!
I am insulted and offended by hope’s racist comment. Clearly, hope is the one who is colorstruck.
This election has really brought out the true racism in some people on both sides. We are all entitled to our opinion of who we think should be the next leader of our country. I’m getting really tired of people saying that blacks are voting for Obama because of the color of his skin when some of those same people have or know of someone who has discriminated against people for the same reasons. I’m not saying that it is right but let’s not act like this is the first or the last time that someone will make a decision on that. People have been recorded at Republican rallies making racist remarks and gestures so let’s cut the crap both sides are not squeaky clean when it comes to deciding who to vaote for. We all need to respect each other’s opinion, you don’t have to agree with it. May the BEST man win and the BEST will be determined by the votes.. period!!
With all respect; I think the people of this world can make the change. In this world today there is still so much hatred. Regardless of who wins this election it’s all up to God. Yes, there is time for CHANGE, and we need a leader in the house that can make that happen. Yes, I think its very inappropriate for the young women to be in Food Lion talking very loud out Obama.Why did david have to sterotype them by being users of food stamps. Wake up David there are plenty of black and whites using food stamps today. Look at how many jobs we lost. That’s why they are voting for CHANGE. Hey you never now you might just need that government assistance, if your not already on it. Your no better than the next person!!!!!
Personally I don’t think we will see a President Elect for a few days. I can’t understand why people have given Obama the title already and today is election day.
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