Local election officials expect a higher turnout

Bring your patience and ID’s, but leave behind any campaign outerwear on Nov. 4.

With the high interest in the presidential race between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain, local election officials are preparing for a higher turnout.

“Just be patient, because you may have to wait in line and there’s only so much we can do about that, because we can’t control when people show up at the polls,” said Amanda DiMeo, general registrar in Staunton.

The Virginia State Board of Elections is encouraging voters to hit the polls at off-peak hours.

Waynesboro general registrar Mary Alice Downs cautions voters to bring identification with them. Not having it will not keep them from voting, but it will slow down the process, she said.

But the national issues with third-party voter registration groups haven’t cropped up here, according to Brandi Lilly, general registrar in Augusta County. She said the area typically has local groups, such as churches or schools, sponsor registration drives. The national groups tend to hit larger cities and regions in the state, she said, and have been more active in the 2008 election cycle.

Another issue confusing voters, Lilly said, was whether Virginia was an early voting state. It is not. She said her phone has been ringing “off the hook” because people have been calling in confused about that. For legitimate reasons as defined by the Virginia State Board of Elections, voters can submit an absentee ballot.

DiMeo said her office has been “very busy” with those, with about 270 coming in person to vote since the end of September.

“We’ve had a lot of elderly people who are not able to stand in line,” DiMeo said.

Downs and Lilly said they’ve also seen an increase in absentee voting. Downs said she has seen about 500 people vote absentee, while Lilly puts the number thus far in Augusta County at 1,720 — 587 in person and 1,133 by mail.

DiMeo said she hasn’t determined an exact total of registered voters this year, but she “anticipate[s] it being higher” than the 12,726 registered voters in the 2004 presidential election. In Waynesboro, there are 12,258 registered voters, about 500 more than four years ago, Downs said. Augusta County has almost 43,000 registered voters, up from 38,580 in 2004.

On election day, all three area jurisdictions will beef up the number of poll workers. Staunton typically has about 30 poll workers, but DiMeo said she will have between 40 and 50. Waynesboro will also have about 40 poll workers, with another eight to 10 people to help answer questions, Downs said. In Augusta County, 263 people will be working on election day, up from the normal 178.

Security is also an issue locally. DiMeo said Staunton has had meetings with the election board and with the city police.

“We just want to make sure we cover all of our bases in this election,” DiMeo said.

Lilly said the state has a contingency plan for any voting day irregularities, working hard to prepare for power outages or other possible voting disruptions.

“We are very aware of all the different possibilities that can happen,” Lilly said, “and we are working hard to make sure that we have them all covered.”

Downs said in Waynesboro that there would be no additional police presence in the polling precincts unless they are needed.

“They will be on alert and standing by,” Downs said. “That’s a federal and state request.” She also noted that poll workers are deputized for the day.

All three jurisdictions say their polling machines are ready to go, but all ask that voters cover up any campaign-related clothing before going inside the polls. Voters are not allowed to wear such clothing within 40-feet of a polling place.

Outside the established 40-foot buffer, Downs said, “they can be dressed in red, white and blue from head to toe.”