Brent Finnegan -- November 4th, 2008
The polls are now officially open. Help us track what’s happening in the area throughout the day by leaving comments, updating the Twitter hashtag feed, adding your pictures to the Flickr pool, or participating in our totally unscientific exit poll below:
Please limit yourself to one poll (city or county). Choose all that apply:
And for all our readers in the county:
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Friendly City Food Co-Op, Harrisonburg’s consumer-owned grocery, invites the community to come see its new destination for natural, organic and locally-produced products at the store’s grand opening 11 a.m.-5 p.m. July 9 at 150 East Wolfe Street. A ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place at 11 a.m. with Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture Matt Lohr, Harrisonburg Mayor [...]
HARRISONBURG, VA — Friendly City Food Co-op, slated to open this month in Harrisonburg, Va., has become the newest member of the National Cooperative Grocers Association (NCGA), a business services cooperative serving 120 consumer-owned food co-ops nationwide. NCGA helps unify food co-ops in order to optimize operational and marketing resources, strengthen purchasing power, and ultimately [...]
May 2: Harrisonburg was honored when the League of American Bicyclists announced the latest round of Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC) designations over the weekend to kick off May as National Bike Month. Out of the 45 new applicants that the program received, 21 communities received awards. Harrisonburg was given a bronze‐level Bicycle Friendly Community designation. [...]
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TV3 just interviewed a girl who had been in line at Stone Spring since 2 am and was voter number 7! This is going to be a great day!
In line @ 5:45 at Keister and home by 6:23…should see the line at Starbucks…free is all it takes.
Yes, I just came from Stone Spring Elem. There were easily 200 people in line at 6 when the poll opened. When I left, the parking lots were all full and the line was probably well over 500 people!
Oh, I forgot the best part (for me), Yuna from TV3 was broadcasting there and could only find 3 republicans.
We got to Montezuma Hall at shortly after 6:00 am, and the line was out the door almost to the back of the parking lot. But we both voted! I think I left the polling station at 6:38 am.
We got to Waterman right before the doors opened at 6, and there was already a line stretching from the gym door down to the public sidewalk. Everything went smoothly and we voted a little less than an hour later. Based on the little checkoff sheets of ballot numbers, I would guess we were about number 300 voting.
I don’t like the idea of someone handing out sample ballets right in front of the door to enter the school that were printed by the Democrat Party with the ovals already balckened. If they are going to hand them out, make them do it far from the doors.
Poll workers at the Silver Lake precinct at Woodmen of the world kept the line moving very well! I got out of the car at 7:31 and back to the car at 7:43. No annoying party workers handing out literature.
…and I wasn’t exit polled.
I got to Stone Spring at 7:28 and voted at 8:25. My ballot was the 760th deposited in the machine. My last name starts with B. If your name started with L-Z, your wait would have been more like 15mins vs 60mins.
Republicans handing out filled out sample ballots near door of Waterman. Didn’t see Dems, but did see quite a few of the non-partisan voter watch people who were making sure every person knew why they were there and to come talk to them if they weren’t able to vote for some reason.
So exciting to see such a long line at 6! We got in our car around 5:50am and saw two other neighbors get in their cars at the same time and we all drove to the polling place. I heard someone else say the same thing happened in their neighborhood. I should have just organized a car pool! :)
Also wanted to give Kudos to poll workers at Waterman. They’re doing a GREAT job and moving people through very efficiently so far.
There were a couple people handing out literature a bit away from the line/entrance where we were, but I was parked further up, so I didn’t end up getting accosted. I don’t even know who they were for, as it was dark, but judging from the multitude of signs that absolutely lined the entrances to the parking lot, my guess is they were for the Republican candidates.
I wasn’t exit polled by anyone.
Frank- I totally agree, I hate the sample ballots that are handed out year after year. However both parties are at fault. I wasn’t offered a sample ballot by the democrats but I was offered 2 by the republicans at Keister.
I only saw Republican sample ballots at Waterman. I wasn’t offered one. The workers there did a great job and it was smooth sailing. I wasn’t exit polled, but when I unzipped my jacket I was offered an Obama sticker. I had my ObamaMama shirt covered while voting.
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re:
“If your name started with L-Z, your wait would have been more like 15mins vs 60mins”
Ya this is one of the FEW times that alphabetical order works to the advantage of those of us at the END of the alphabet. Pretty much all of public schooling was unfortunate when things were ordered by last name, but later in life things brighten.
Hooray for my (few) fellow U-V-W-X-Y-Z-name colleagues.
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Went to Sims at 9:15… took about 10 minutes. No exit polling that I could see.
This sort of line in McGaheysville has to be some sort of record.
I got in line at the fire dept in Broadway at 7:20 and was walking out at 8:25. I have NEVER seen so many people in line in Broadway. Republicans handing out ballots but no exit polling.
Probably no reason to exit poll in Harrisonburg. While many voters today are to the left, there was a time when Harrisonburg was much more radical. Some of us were real card carrying Marxist. Jessy Jackson won the primary in Harrisonburg. No surprise that they will go heavy for Obama.
I’ve heard there are poll workers with lists of local folks who support a given candidate and listen out loud at polls, checking off names, then plan to call people who haven’t voted this afternoon with a “you said you were going to vote XYZ candidate, why haven’t you voted yet?”
Please tell me this is a rumor and isn’t true.
I left at 8:05 in Broadway, not 8:25. Line was moving really fast.
I’m curious how many used paper ballots. I did.
Heard of exit polling this morning at Elkton Middle School / Swift Run precinct.
Paper ballots at Simms.
Paper ballots only at Waterman.
I had a choice of voting electronically or using a paper ballot. I used a paper ballot. I know, how very low-tech and not very green of me, but it just seems less tamper proof to me, I guess. I like knowing that my vote is out there in tangible form.
Arrived at Keister @ 9:10, navigated through a ton of campaign signs (mostly for McCain and some local offices). Probably around 20-25 people handing out literature and candidates greeting everyone going to vote! I felt like I was in a parade. Stood in the H-O line about 10 minutes, hubby was in the P-Z with a 5 minute wait. A-G line probably 20 minute wait. Back home by 9:30. Hats off to the volunteers at Keister! That’s one well-oiled machine.
I voted in Broadway around 8:30 – it was a VERY big crowd for Broadway. I normally wait about 2 minutes to vote – today I waited about 20 minutes. Lowell & Vicki Barb were on hand, as was Mark Obenshain. Literature hander-outers weren’t too annoying or pushy as they sometimes are. I used the computer to vote – still, you always wonder…
i voted in staunton this morning at r.e. lee high school. even though the line was out the door when we arrived (which i’ve never seen happen there that early), everything ran pretty smoothly. we pulled into the parking lot at 6:40am and were back home by 7:20am.
There was one electronic voting machine at Waterman, but it was way over in the corner and no one was using it or was presented with the option to use it. I prefer paper ballots, anyway.
Voting at Simms quick, short lines right now, no exit polling but lots and lots of signs
Linz I was wondering if that machine wasn’t for people with disabilities because I noticed it had headphones attached to it.
The number of political signs at Simms is staggering. Clumps of signs for the same candidate. Like a dozen all within 10 square feet. I couldn’t help but wonder if yard signs really influence someone of who to vote for. It’s interesting to see the breakdown of who has what signs and how many by neighborhood, but this display was just wasteful.
Brian, in some cases people bring their signs from home and put them at their polling places. So that may account for the amount. I was trying to remember if I saw any McCain signs at Waterman, but I don’t think that I did. I took a bunch of pictures, but left the cord to my camera at home, so I’ll put them up later.
At 11:30am I heard that Waterman ran out of paper ballots. Can anyone validate that? I’m glad I got there at 5:50am.
Staunton resident here. I had about the same experience that most here seemed to have. Longer than expected lines, but not crazy. About 30-40 minutes.
Lots of McCain signs, but lots of Obama sticker on cars. There were a couple of people wearing “Election Protection” shirts that I took to be some sort of observers there to guard against shenanigans. Also, my polling place had a flu shot drive going on.
According to one of Brent’s videos they did run out but they have more now!
The only Republican signs I saw at Waterman were around five Tracy Evans signs and about two Charles Chenault signs.
Another Staunton resident here with the longest lines I’ve ever seen in the Queen City (where I have lived 9 years). In my case, a lower-letter last name served well. I waited about 10 minutes in A-J. The L-Z line looked to be about three times as long.
No wait at all at Spotswood Elem. this morning around 10a. Had a choice of paper or electronic.
Seems there’s a lull right now. Just three people in front of me in Harrisonburg’s Keister district. So, if you haven’t voted and want to avoid lines, I’d say go now. I’m sure it will get heavier again this evening.
No line at all at Waterman at 12:30. The fewest people I’ve ever seen there. Maybe everyone was worried and came at 6.
I waited 1 hr 15 min this morning in Staunton and I was number 138 in my line. I heard several of the machines were broken and fixed before I arrived at 6:20. I didn’t see any evidence of paper ballots being available, but I think I saw a woman filling out a provisional ballot when her address was disputed. There was only one volunteer (a Democrat) there at that time. The voter rights volunteer made herself known to everyone in line.
So where is everyone partying tonight?
At home, hunkered down in the basement, with all their weapons loaded.
We want to make sure we aren’t victims of some type of people that turn violent when the win OR lose.
Those crazy Republicans– always with the positive attitude about America :)
Hey Myron, don’t shoot me…I’m in the back right corner of the barn with my WiFi card. I couldn’t get the last 3 dozen eggs off the house over the weekend, so I figure they would want me head tonight.
Spotswood has definitely been slow (compared to Stone Spring). I was about the 700th voter at 2:00 pm
Little before 4 p.m. no wait at Lucy Simms. In and out.