:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tronc/X7H3YBXFLVGUPKFV6V4MTBJOMA.jpg)
At Seatack Elementary School in Virginia Beach and Phoebus High School in Hampton, voters lined up before dawn to make their voices heard.
There was even a line at 4:45 a.m. Tuesday — more than an hour before polls opened — when Linda Odell, Denbigh precinct chief election officer, arrived at the northern Newport News polling spot.
“We voted 200 people in the first 4 minutes,” she said.
Quickly though, voting lines in Hampton Roads cleared, many remaining slow but steady throughout the day — likely because so many people voted early or by mail because of the coronavirus pandemic.
At Armstrong Elementary School in Hampton, lead election official Philip Siff held a thick stack of papers in his hand: “That’s how many people voted early.”
Even before polling places opened at 6 a.m. Tuesday, 2.75 million of Virginia’s 5.9 million registered voters had already cast ballots, said Christopher Piper, Virginia’s Department of Elections commissioner.
That’s 69% of the total number who voted in 2016.
Voting looked markedly different Tuesday as Virginians cast ballots for president, House and Senate seats, constitutional amendments, and — in some local cities — mayor, city councils and school boards. Voters wearing masks stood 6 feet apart in line. Polling officials wiped down stations between voters.
In an already uncertain year, election results in many races also remained uncertain Tuesday night. The Associated Press declared Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Warner winner of a third term in office, defeating Republican challenger Daniel Gade. The AP also called Virginia for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.
Piper cautioned that final results may take a while.
Like everything in 2020, he said, “it’s a unique year. I think we should be prepared for a unique night and a unique week.” Quoting his high school algebra teacher, Piper said it’s more important to get the numbers right, than fast.
Just 300,000 ballots cast early hadn’t been scanned by Tuesday, he said. That is about the same number as in 2016. About another 200,000 people had asked for absentee ballots but not yet returned them.
During a 4 p.m. press briefing, state election officials said they’d heard of no major problems, including any reports of voter intimidation or of voters refusing to wear masks.
James City County saw a minor problem with voting machines at three precincts early in the day. Election officials were using disinfecting spray to sanitize voting booths between uses, and several ballots were initially rejected by the machines because they were still damp. That was an isolated incident.
At the polls Tuesday, many of those who turned out said this election carried greater weight than usual.
Katie Hogg, 27, said she wanted to “feel the energy” of voting on Election Day.
“It’s quite a day in history,” the Hampton voter said. “There is a lot of emotion behind this election, and I just wanted to do my due diligence. Kind of the way that democracy is presenting itself is messy and more emotionally driven. I’m voting for the unheard, for the ones who can’t vote. That is where my emotion comes from.”
Katrina Johnson wanted her daughters to watch and brought the 8- and 11-year-olds with her to Easton Preschool in Norfolk. As a Black woman, voting is precious, she said.
“I wanted to exercise my right to vote because for so long Black people and Black women couldn’t,” she said. For her daughters, “I wanted them both to experience this as young Black women.”
Johnson voted for Biden and said she’s been stressed about the outcome of the election, but is at peace now: “I feel hopeful either way. Whatever happens will be God’s will.”
At Watkins Early Childhood Center, which saw the highest turnout in Newport News in the 2016 presidential election, there was a steady trickle of voters. But no line.
Silmese Graves and Dwight Carter stopped at the “Vote Here” sign in front of the school to take a photo with their 2-month-old son, Booker Dwight Carter. Graves said she votes in every election, something she’s done since she turned 18. There is a strong family tradition of voting, she said.
“They grew up in Mississippi and it was very hard for them out there,” she said.
But it also felt exceptionally important to vote in this election to them.
“Our lives depend on it. His life depends on it,” Graves said, looking at Booker in his stroller. “I’ve been chanting with him this morning — got to make a change.”
Some voters took extra precautions to vote in person Tuesday.
James Parker, a former Newport News firefighter, lost half of his right lung in a firefighting accident and has been anxious about contracting COVID-19.
To vote, he called ahead to get a curbside ballot. Two poll workers came out with his ballot and a clipboard. Parker filled it out sitting in the passenger seat of his friend’s car while wearing an N95 mask.
He was worried that the ballot might not go through the scanner. Even with a special weighted pen, his nerve damage makes it hard to write. But it went through, and one of the poll workers came back out with a sticker.
At Bethel High School in Hampton, twins Taylor and Tyler Berry, who turned 18 in June, came out to vote for the first time. Parents Kendra and Justin Berry and an entourage of other younger siblings and people cheered them on as they cast ballots.
“We have a voice now. It’s different,” says Taylor Berry, who felt excited for her opportunity.
Kendra Berry also brought some adults she works with who have intellectual or developmental disabilities, so they could see her vote. She picked up another daughter from college to make it a family affair.
“Wanted to make sure they understand the importance of elections,” she said.
Celeste Cradle wanted to vote in person, feeling that would make her vote count more.
“It felt iffy for me to vote” by absentee ballot, said the 67-year-old Hampton resident. “I wanted to be there in person (on Election Day) where my vote was seen.”
Kurt Hogan also opted to vote on Election Day and said he was glad he did.
“It was heartening to hear all the cheering for the first-time voters,” Hogan said. “I never heard applause before. It made it more memorable for me. Hoping it’s a sign of things to come.”
At Tanners Creek Elementary in Norfolk, 27-year-old Kiaora Lucy cast her first ballot ever with about an hour to spare before polls closed.
“My mom, she was in my ear about it,” Lucy said.
She voted for Biden but said she felt sure Donald Trump would win.
Lucy, who lives with her 4-year-old son in public housing, said she worries about her family if the president wins reelection. Already his administration has tried to roll back food stamps, and she is afraid she could lose her home: “I hope he thinks about people with more needs.”
Priscilla Kneer Jaen walked from her apartment to vote after she got off work. She said she saw long lines in the morning, but by the evening she slipped in and out without any wait.
Kneer Jaen said she voted for Trump because she supports Republican values like small government, not because of any particular feelings about Trump himself. Just as in 2016, she said she cast her vote based on party and not the candidate.
“I don’t know him,” she said. “His persona he displays publicly may be really different than in private.”
In Chesapeake, Jeremy LeBleu walked out of Oscar Smith High School surprised at how sparse the crowd was.
Maybe a dozen cars were scattered around the large parking lot.
Less than 500 of more than 3,000 voters registered there had voted in person at the precinct by 5 p.m., according to chief poll officer Kim Sykes.
Outside, LeBleu said he was glad to be casting another ballot for Donald Trump.
“I honestly thought he was exactly what the country needed when he ran the first time,” LeBleu said.
Today's Top Stories
And now?
“I know I’m doing better than I was four years ago.”
At Robinson Olsson Auditorium in West Point, Kelly Magovero cast her ballot with her daughter Charlotte. Election Day is a teaching opportunity, she said, and she brings her daughter along each year to witness democracy in action.
Women have worked too hard to gain the right to vote for her to not go to the polls, Magovero said. A native of the same hometown as Susan B. Anthony, Magovero said she takes a lot of pride in voting.
“This election marks 100 years since women were allowed to vote. It’s important because it’s not only our responsibility but it’s our right,” Magovero said. “A lot of women had to work hard for this, and I want my daughter to know that the future and that our future is determined this way.”
Staff writers Noor Adatia, Peter Dujardin, Sara Gregory, Jane Harper, Em Holter, Matt Jones, Margaux MacColl, Saleen Martin, Ryan Murphy, Alex Perry, Kimberly Pierceall, Dave Ress, Josh Reyes, Robyn Sidersky and Lisa Vernon Sparks contributed to this report.
Margaret Matray, 757-222-5216, margaret.matray@pilotonline.com