Just a late reminder that today is the last day to vote absentee in person. Check with your local registrar’s office. I went to the Norfolk office earlier today and did exactly that;) The Norfolk office is open until 5pm.
Interesting tidbit I got from the registrar’s office: absentee ballots are running just about the same was they did in 2003, the last time we had an off-year election. What’s interesting, though, is that in 2003, Norfolk had the Clerk Of Court race on the ballot, which is, of course, a city-wide election. Those results show 380 absentee ballots cast. (The only other contested race on the ballot was Nick Rerras/Andy Protogyrou in the 6th Senate, in which 176 absentee votes were cast.)
The bulk of this year’s absentee ballots have been cast in the two contested races in the city: Northam v Rerras in the 6th SD and and Miller v Giffin in the 87th House. Given the lack of a citywide race or other competitive races, I would expect that overall voter turnout in Norfolk will be significantly lower than the 22% seen in 2003. That means every vote really counts, folks. So if you are going to be unavailable Tuesday, get to the registrar’s office today.
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 