This morning, I exercised my voting rights as a US citizen. In Virginia, I do not need to declare a party affiliation. Thus, the primaries are open to all registered voters.
What happens when you have an election, and nobody shows up to vote?
Unless you were looking for the details, this was the least advertised and news-reported election in my memory. I saw a few McAuliffe and Foy ads. McAuliffe directed ads mostly at Youngkin and the general election.
As typical, I ran to the Eagle Lodge, my polling location. The building is 1/4 mile from my house. But, with the train tracks and creek in the way, it’s 2 miles one way to get there.
I wasn’t sure about their COVID procedure. So in case, I needed a face covering, I put on a neck gaiter for the run in 73-degree conditions.
I was able to stay on the wide shoulders of Rt 3 and Cool Spring Road, with the passing trucks creating a headwind.
When I got to the Eagle Lodge, there were a few cars in the parking and a few political signs. When I got close to the door and looked hard, I could see a small “Vote here Today” sign. It’s like somebody didn’t want to tell everybody there was an election.
I arrived around 8:15 am. Upon going inside, there was no line with about six poll workers sitting around.
They asked for a picture ID. This election was a Democrat Party-only primary. If the party is opposed to voter ID, why do they require a photo ID? And, they offered curbside voting. Don’t you need a photo ID to drive?
I got my ballot, apologized for sweating on their desk, went over to one of four booths, and filled in my circles. I took my paper ballot and inserted it into the scanner. I was the 24th voter. So, they had about one person every seven minutes. Extrapolating the numbers, 150 people should vote at my precinct. My guess is Stafford County will have about 4000 voters out of 250,000 residents.
I’m glad to live in a free country, where little me has a chance to make an impact.