Va. is for voters
Long lines on Day 1 of early polls
Long lines packed with hundreds of voters were seen across Virginia on Friday as in-person early voting kicked off there and in other states for the November general election.
Online videos showed masked and socially distanced Virginians lined up as far as the eye could see in Fairfax to vote despite the coronavirus pandemic.
A longtime poll worker in Fairfax told CNN that she had never seen a turnout like Friday’s on the first day of early voting.
Arlington County’s elections office tweeted that 200 people cast ballots in the first hour of the polls opening.
Massive lines of voters were also reported in Alexandria and Virginia Beach.
In previous presidential elections, Virginia voters needed to cite a reason to cast an early ballot, but this year anyone was allowed to vote early.
Virginia, along with South Dakota, Wyoming and Minnesota kicked off in-person early voting on Friday for the Nov. 3 general election.
As President Trump and Joe Biden continue to battle for the country’s votes, Virginia — largely considered blue-leaning — does not appear to be getting the swing-state treatment it once did.
Neither Trump nor Biden appeared on broadcast television there as early voting got underway, The Washington Post reported.
“There’s really no discussion about the state being in play,” Amy Walter, national editor of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, told the newspaper. “If you’re Ohio or New Hampshire, or Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, you’ve always been in that spotlight. Virginia got it for such a short period of time.”
The last time presidential candidates strayed from Virginia and off its airwaves was in 2004, when the state was largely red, according to the newspaper.
“Virginia was the belle of the ball in 2008, and again in 2012, and still once more in 2016, but in 2020, the commonwealth is a wall flower,” Stephen Farnsworth, a University of Mary Washington political scientist, told The Washington Post.
Still, the Trump and Biden campaigns claim they are making an effort to win Virginia’s 13 Electoral College votes.
“Virginia is one of 17 battleground states that we’re investing in around the country,” Samantha Cotten, a regional spokeswoman for the Trump campaign, told The Washington Post.