By ALLISON WRABEL, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)
Voters in Albemarle County may see some new faces at their precincts on Nov. 3, as about 40% of the county’s approximately 400 election officers are working their first election. Training was done virtually, and officials say they are ready to handle whatever Election Day brings, from counting an unprecedented number of early votes to potential intimidation, as area voters look to elect a president, congressman, senator and decide on two constitutional amendments amid a pandemic.
By AMY FRIEDENBERGER, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)
Americans are used to the moment on election night when the TV news anchors announce a winner, the newly elected president takes the stage and gives a speech, the balloons fall and the music plays. This year, you’ll probably go to sleep without knowing the next president. And you might wake up not knowing the winner. And you may go to sleep again, wake up again, and go to sleep again for a few more days.
By JAMES SCOTT BARON, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)
The days of staying up late on election night to discover which candidates won may be over. Although the polls close at 7 p.m. Tuesday, the work of local election officials could continue for up to an additional week beyond the election because so many voters are using absentee ballots this year.
Associated Press
Virginia voters on Tuesday will determine the staying power of a “blue wave” that flipped two competitive congressional districts two years ago, while also casting ballots for a U.S. Senate seat and the presidency. As in other states, voters were deciding between Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic former Vice President Joe Biden. Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Warner is the favorite in his reelection bid against a little-known Republican challenger.
By PARKER COTTON, Danville Register & Bee
On the final day of early voting in Virginia, Sen. Tim Kaine appeared in Halifax and Danville on Saturday morning to show support for 5th Congressional District Democratic candidate Cameron Webb. Webb, a physician, college professor and lawyer, is running against former Liberty University athletics administrator Bob Good in a House of Representatives race that is expected to be among the closest in the country.
By MICHAEL RUIZ, Fox News
Bob Good, a Republican House candidate from Virginia who ousted his district’s incumbent GOP congressman at a party convention over the summer, is sticking to his guns in a close general election campaign. He’s unapologetically pro-law enforcement, pro-Second Amendment and pro-life, he told Fox News Wednesday. “The positions that my campaign represents are aligned with the values of the voters in the 5th District,” he said.
By EMILY JENNINGS AND CLINT SCHEMMER, Culpeper Star Exponent (Metered Paywall - 20 articles a month)
With 250,000 ballots already cast as of Saturday morning in Virginia’s 7th Congressional District contest, Rep. Abigail Spanberger and Del. Nick Freitas spent the last day of early voting campaigning in different spots across the district. On Saturday morning, Freitas campaigned in Chesterfield County—part of the vote-rich Richmond suburbs near Spanberger’s home in Henrico County—outside LaPrade Library, an early-voting location.
By EMILY JENNINGS, Culpeper Star Exponent (Metered Paywall - 20 articles a month)
Del. Nick Freitas’s fight against Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-7th, has reaped national notice in 2020’s divisive election year. The Republican state delegate aims to return the 7th Congressional District’s seat back to its more conservative roots. “When you look at what’s going on in cities across America right now, I think people are having a lot of concern about what Democratic leadership in Washington, D.C., would look like,” the Republican state delegate told the Culpeper Star-Exponent.
By CLINT SCHEMMER, Culpeper Star Exponent (Metered Paywall - 20 articles a month)
No culture warrior, Rep. Abigail Spanberger calls herself a “passionate pragmatist” and takes pride in getting stuff done. In her first term, the 7th Congressional District Democrat has introduced 15 pieces of legislation, of which 20—or 80 percent—were bipartisan. Eight passed the House, and three bills that Spanberger sponsored were signed into law by President Donald Trump. But now she is fighting for a second shot in what, until she appeared in 2018, had long been a Republican district.
By MEAGAN FLYNN AND JIM MORRISON, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)
Voters came out in droves on the last day of early voting in Virginia on Saturday, zigzagging their way around parking lots and polling places in hours-long queues at some locations. Few were as congested as the early-voting sites in Virginia Beach, where voters waited an astounding four to seven hours at the government center and various satellite locations. They sat in lawn chairs on sidewalks. They stood in the grass in medians dividing traffic, as elections workers were dispatched to keep people safe from cars. At least one wore a witch hat to keep it festive on Halloween.
By JAMES JARVIS, Inside NOVA (Metered Paywall)
Thousands of voters turned out across Northern Virginia on Saturday for the final day of early in-person voting for the 2020 election. In Fairfax County, election officials were expecting Saturday's numbers to be similar to the 14,000 who voted on Friday. According to the Virginia Public Access Project, through Friday, nearly 374,000 Fairfax voters had already cast ballots in person or by mail, representing just over two-thirds of the 551,000 who voted in the 2016 presidential election.
By MATT JONES, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
When Sofia Gloria arrived at the Kempsville Treasurer’s Office before 4:15 a.m., there were only a handful of people sitting outside. By 5 a.m., there were about 50 people, she estimated. By 9 a.m., when the office opened to voters for the last day of in-person early voting, there were over 400 people waiting.
By RACHEL MAHONEY, News & Advance (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)
A line of voters trailed out of the Lynchburg Registrar’s Office on Saturday for the last day of early in- person voting. It was the third time this week that Michelle and James Cobbs have seen the voting line stretch down along the train tracks off Kemper Street, but they braved the wait Saturday because Michelle Cobbs said it’s important for them to vote as a family and in person.
By PARKER COTTON, Danville Register & Bee
Residents of the Dan River Region reported very few issues voting on Saturday, which was the last day in-person voting was available for Virginians prior to Election Day on Tuesday. At both the Danville registrar’s office on Main Street and the Olde Dominion Agricultural Complex north of Chatham, voters were thankful to find short lines and helpful poll workers so that they could cast their ballot early.
By ERIC KOLENICH, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)
Presidential elections are said to be referendums on the incumbent administration, with Americans essentially deciding whether to keep the current party in power. That sentiment is particularly true this year, a statewide poll conducted by Virginia Commonwealth University has found. Among likely voters in Virginia who plan to vote for Democratic candidate Joe Biden, or who have already voted for him, only half view their vote as pro-Biden. The other half see their vote as a statement against President Donald Trump. Among Trump voters, 77% see their vote as pro-Trump, and 20% see their vote as a rejection of Biden.
By YANN RANAIVO, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)
Former Vice President Joe Biden holds an 11-point lead over President Donald Trump in Virginia, according to the results of a Roanoke College poll released Saturday. The poll conducted by The Institute for Policy and Opinion Research comes just days ahead of Election Day. Pollster interviewed slightly more than 800 likely Virginia voters between Oct. 23 and Oct. 29. The poll has a margin of error of 3.5%.
By JARED FORETEK AND KARI PUGH, Inside NOVA (Metered Paywall)
If recent elections are a guide, President Donald Trump will have a tough time winning the vote in Prince William County on Tuesday, but he has received more campaign contributions from county residents than has his opponent. Based on fundraising data compiled by the Virginia Public Access Project, Trump has raised about $30,000 more than Democrat Joe Biden this election cycle in Prince William and has about 300 more individual donors.
By MATTHEW KORFHAGE, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
On Friday afternoon at the 411 building in Chesapeake, home to the elections department, the tight-packed parking lot looks like a slow demolition derby. A socially-distanced line of early voters stretches to the edge of the building. Mango Mangeaux restaurant owners Lakesha Brown-Renfro and Tanecia Willis have their own version of voter poll for each person in line: Would anyone like a free sandwich? Some bottled water?
