Thread by @wetzler_jessica

Happy Election Day!

The Rockingham County Voter Registrar will release its 10 a.m. turnout call soon, and I'll be posting details as they come in.

In the meantime, here is a rundown of all the local elections happening in the Rockingham County/Harrisonburg area. (THREAD)

Five candidates are vying for two seats up for election today on the Rockingham County School Board.

Only one of the candidates is an incumbent, Jackie Lohr, who represents District 1.

dnronline.com/news/local/sch…

In the 26th House of Delegates District, voters choose between incumbent Republican Tony Wilt, of Broadway, and challenger Bill Helsley, a Democrat from McGaheysville.

dnronline.com/news/helsley-s…

Sara Ratcliffe, 51, of Greene County, is challenging Del. Rob Bell for the 58th District seat — becoming Bell’s fourth opponent since being elected.

dnronline.com/news/elections…

Today, voters in the town of Broadway will decide the makeup of half its Town Council as five candidates seek to occupy three seats up for grabs.

dnronline.com/news/elections…

Emily Scott, 65, of Woodstock, said she believes candidates shouldn’t win by default, adding that with democracy comes choice. It’s for those reasons Scott is seeking to unseat Del. Todd Gilbert, R-Woodstock, in the House of Delegates.

dnronline.com/news/elections…

Del. Chris Runion, R-Bridgewater, is once again being challenged by Democrat Jennifer Kitchen for the 25th House District.

dnronline.com/news/elections…

Not on the ballot, but still important: The city and county registrar’s offices have helped a majority of those with issues on their mail-in ballots correct clerical errors to make sure the residents’ vote can be counted on Election Day.

dnronline.com/news/local/reg…

And here is a spotlight on a longtime election officer, who has worked Rockingham County’s Edom precinct in District 2 for 40 years ago.

dnronline.com/news/elections…

Numbers for the 10 a.m. call-in are still coming in, so I'm going to enjoy my cup of coffee. Should we take guests on how many cups of coffee I have today?

*Rockingham County 10 a.m. turnout*

4,245 ballots have been submitted this morning, bringing a turnout rate so far of 7.68%. The precinct with the highest turnout so far is 306-Cross Keys with 19.13% of its 622 registered voters casting their ballot this morning.

Please note, these hourly turnout rates do not include early in-person voting or mailed in an absentee ballot. Lisa Gooden, the county's director of elections, told me yesterday “countywide 17% of voters who have already requested an absentee ballot by mail or came in person."

There are six precincts left to be reported for the 10 a.m. hourly call, but turnout has increased to 11.96%, or 6,609 voters so far.

Three precincts left to be reported and turnout has increased to 13.25% with 7,319 voters so far. For comparison, in 2020, the county had a turnout rate of 23% or 11,638 voters by the 10 a.m. call.

Still waiting on one precinct to report turnout numbers, but right now Rockingham County is at a 14.39% turnout rate with 7,949 registered voters casting their ballot this morning.

*unofficial 10 a.m. hourly call for Rockingham County*

15% of registered voters have cast a ballot this morning. That’s 8,242 out of 55,258 registered voters in the county. Precinct with the highest turnout rate so far is 104-Bergton with 20%.

The next call is at 1 p.m.

OK folks, as I wait for the 1 p.m. hourly call for Rockingham County, here are some stats:
-Turnout for Rock. Co. in 2017 was 50% with 25,270 votes (7,061 D, 17,880 R, 1,159 absentee)
-Turnout for Rock. Co. in 2020 was 80% with 43,811 votes (12,644 D, 30,349 R, 18,080 absentee)

(Stats Continued)
-There were 54,715 registered voters in Rockingham County in 2020.
-There are 55,258 registered voters in Rock. Co. in 2021.
-In 2017, 10,312 Harrisonburg voters cast a ballot.
-In 2020, 17,086 Harrisonburg voters cast a ballot.

(Stats Continued)
-Harrisonburg had 579 absentee ballots submitted in 2017.
-Harrisonburg had 11,331 absentee ballots submitted in 2020.
-Both Harrisonburg and Rockingham had an increase in absentee ballots in 2020 compared to 2017.

With six precincts left to be reported, Rockingham County turnout *for today* has jumped to 21% with 11,399 registered voters casting a ballot as of 1 p.m. These numbers do not include early voting/absentee ballots.

*unofficial Rockingham County turnout as of 1 p.m.*
-With all 31 precincts reported, turnout has increased to 27% with 14,725 registered voters participating in the election so far (today only).

Ate some lunch, packed some snacks and pulled my rain boots on. It's time to visit some polls before the 4 p.m. call-in happens.

First stop, precinct 101-Broadway. So far 888 voters have cast a ballot today, not including absentee/early voting. That’s a 31.75% turnout rate for this precinct.

Broadway Town Council incumbents Chad Comer and Bev London were outside greeting voters and trying to stay warm. Comer said turnout has been pretty good so far, and the rain stopped about two hours ago.

The parking lot at this precinct, located at the Broadway Volunteer Fire Department, is filled. People are parking on the side of the road. At least 10 cars have rolled in since I’ve been here. Off to the next stop.

A few miles away, the Plains District Community Center serves as the location for two precincts: 102-Timberville and 107-Plains.

102-Timberville is at 28.01% turnout with 482 voters and 107-Plains is at 34.4% turnout with 425 voters.

Not only did I run into formed District 1 Supervisor Brent Trumbo at precinct 108-Little North Mountain, but I also got to see retired county zoning administrator Diana Stultz. Talk about a fun mini reunion.

At the 108 precinct, 333 voters have cast a ballot so far today. Chief Karen Mooney said she has been working elections for 6+ years and today was the best turnout she’s seen.

“This election has been incredible. I’m really proud people are coming out and voting,” she said.

At precinct 202-Edom, turnout rate is 52.5% or 966 voters. Chief Lorie Miller said it’s been very busy and turnout is “high for this type of election.”