NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — Early voting numbers in Hampton Roads cities are showing high interest in this year’s pivotal midterm elections.
Elections offices opened up on September 23 in the commonwealth for early voting and closed this past Saturday for early voting.
Many local city council and school board members will be on the ballot across Hampton Roads. A lot of attention, however, is being pointed at whoever voters send to Washington, D.C. from Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District.
On the eve of Election Day for the midterm elections, 10 On Your Side checked in with local election offices to get a glimpse of early voting data and find out whether they have enough poll workers.
Before getting into election data, election officials have important reminders for voters before heading out the door.
“Bring your ID and go to the right precinct and also respect election officials,” said Chairman Jeffrey Marks of the Virginia Beach Electoral Board. “They work hard. It is a long, long day for everybody so just be mindful of that. Bring your ID and go to the right precinct.”
Also, don’t expect to have final results in many races by Tuesday night.
“Tuesday night’s unofficial. You may see some results, they’re unofficial. We have yet to count the provisional ballots, all the absentee ballots have not come in,” Marks said. “So if it’s a tight race, you’re really not going to know until the following Tuesday.”
Norfolk
Over 8,100 people cast their ballot early in person and over 5,700 voted early by mail. There are still some outstanding ballots that will be received as well.
According to officials from the Norfolk Office of Elections, the trend for this election is very close to last year’s gubernatorial election.
The trend is also already higher than what it was four years ago for the same local races. More voters also cast a ballot early in person on the first day than did last year.
All five city council and school board ward districts are on the ballot aside from congressional races.
The Office of Elections also says they are fully staffed with 10 to 12 poll workers at each polling place.
Virginia Beach
Election officials in Virginia Beach echo the same message on having a full staff at precincts across the city.
“Our staff do a wonderful job of maintaining those relationships,” Marks said. “ I think we have a lot of devoted people who really enjoy doing it and believe it’s an important part of their civic obligation.”
On Monday, 10 On Your Side got a look at preparations being made to get precincts ready for Tuesday as polling precinct chiefs gathered supplies for their respective locations.
“In the way back of the warehouse, we have essentially all the election machines in what I call the cages, these metal cages,” said Marks. “Those are being transported, have been and are being transported to the 100 different precincts.”
In the Resort City, over 36,200 people voted in person for early voting and over 17,000 people voted by mail so far.
Election officials say the numbers they’re seeing so far are also comparable to last year’s gubernatorial election.
Portsmouth
Out of 68,507 registered voters in Portsmouth, 9,452 have voted early. The city director of elections tells 10 On Your Side that this year’s early voters have more than quadrupled since the Nov. 2018 election.
Chesapeake
15% of registered voters in Chesapeake have voted early this election. Election officials tell us 177,099 are registered to vote and 26,428 have voted early.
Newport News
Newport News has seen a similar increase in early voters. 124,960 are registered to vote and 16,538, about 13%, have voted early.