Enormous Lines of Voters In Virginia, 1st Day of Early In- Person Voting

[appalachiablue]

Fairfax and Arlington Counties in Northern Va. reported very large voter turnout today. Fairfax Co. population is approximately 1.2 million people. Friday, Sept. 18, 2020.

[gab13by13]

1. I see no red hats and plenty of masks.

Good sign to me.

[Sherman A1]

2. Excellent!

[Illumination]

3. This is absolutely ridiculous what these voters are being put through needlessly!

Government officials should never have allowed this during a pandemic! Here in CO, I will receive my ballot in the mail & use a voting mailbox. Just received my blue State Ballot Info. Booklet yesterday...

[BumRushDaShow]

4. What you see in the video are people who are doing that BY CHOICE

Apparently VA has the option for "absentee" (by mail) or "vote by mail" or "in person" (on election day) or "early voting" ("in person" 45 days before election day). And in this case, the video is showing the "early voting" and these people specifically wanted to do that instead of using mail-in voting -

Early Voting In-Person

You can vote early at your local registrar’s office beginning 45 days before Election Day and ending the Saturday before Election Day. Before visiting your local registrar’s office, you may wish to check your registration status or call your registrar’s office. You can find your registrar’s phone number here. To vote early in-person, do the following:

Starting 45 days before Election Day, visit your local registrar’s office or a satellite voting location in your county or city to vote early. Remember, the Saturday before Election Day is the last day to vote early.

You do not have to have a reason or fill out an application to vote early.

At the registrar’s office or satellite voting location, you must provide your name and address and show an acceptable form of ID or sign an ID Confirmation Statement. To view a complete list of acceptable IDs, please visit our Voting In-Person page. If acceptable identification is not provided, you must sign an ID Confirmation Statement or a provisional ballot will be offered and you are allowed until the Friday at noon following the election to provide a copy of acceptable identification to the electoral board or sign
an ID Confirmation Statement. Provisional voters receive a notice to remind them of the deadline and right to attend the electoral board meeting.

Accessible equipment and/or curbside voting is available upon request.

https://www.elections.virginia.gov/casting-a-ballot/absentee-voting/

Here in PA, we have "absentee" (by mail) or "no-excuse absentee"/"vote by mail" ) or vote "in person" (on election day). We have no provision for "early voting" ("in person" ). However municipalities across PA, including here in Philly, can and will be setting up "satellite" locations for voters to register to vote, register for an absentee or vote-by-mail ballot, and be able to turn in those mail ballots via drop boxes (none of which will be counted until the polls open on election day).

[LisaL]

6. I am not sure they are truly doing it by choice.

Trump clearly scared many people from voting by mail.

[BumRushDaShow]

7. It is "choice" in that this is "early voting"

and although I agree that the scare-mongering has happened - even for me, where my family and close friends all insist on wanting to vote "in person" (they get to "hand mark" their ballots where they live in the Philly 'burbs), whereas I plan to vote-by-mail here in Philly because I trust the ES&S ExpressVote machines LESS than I do USPS.

The VA general assembly approved and Northam signed, legislation to create satellite locations with drop boxes for mail-in ballots -

Virginia voting guide: What you need to know about early voting, mail-in ballots

By Antonio Olivo and Patricia Sullivan
September 16, 2020 at 1:12 p.m. EDT


This year’s tension-filled presidential election is like no other in recent history.

Amid worries that the coronavirus pandemic could affect turnout and fears that absentee votes could be disqualified because of U.S. Postal Service delays, Virginia has taken steps to make voting in the state easier. The General Assembly approved measures to broaden access to absentee voting, including by allowing ballot drop boxes — which Gov. Ralph Northam (D) signed into law. Northam also signed a bill that declares Election Day a state holiday.

“I am committed to making sure all Virginians have access to the ballot box,” Northam said when announcing the proposal for drop boxes, more funding for postage for ballots and other changes, “and will continue to work with state and federal lawmakers to ensure safe, secure and accessible elections this fall.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2020/08/20/virginia-voting-guide-faq/

Voting matters and those of us who were able to get Democratic governors elected in purple states like VA and PA are really seeing that effort bear fruit during these chaotic times!

[jorgevlorgan]

12. Early voting will be the first ballots counted.

If we want an early call for us, then the more of our folks that vote early, the better.

The truth is that the lines are only long because this is the beginning of early voting. After a couple weeks of it, and as more polling places open up, the lines will dwindle down. But the truth is that we are most likely the most motivated to vote, as they say (we will walk over shard of glass for miles to vote). These early voting lines (and the early vote numbers coming in), are proving it.

[LisaL]

13. I have nothing against early voting. People should vote early if they can.

My point is, some of these people were going to vote early by mail but Trump scared them with his constant criticism of mail in vote. Thankfully he didn't scare them from voting early in person.

[jorgevlorgan]

14. Yeah. And fuck trump for creating a real concern over the reliability' of the usps

I hope that once we win this and take control, we can instate a series of democratic reforms to prevent something like this from ever happening again.

[LisaL]

5. These people had an option of voting by mail.

But Trump scared a lot of voters who wanted to vote by mail.
SO now they are voting in person.

[BumRushDaShow]

8. They now can use drop-boxes

(I had replied to you upthread )

[LisaL]

9. I plant to vote by mail in OH.

The primary was the first time I voted by mail and it wasn't hard. Our early voting is difficult if one lives in a large county (only one early voting place per county, regardless of the size of the county). And I don't want to wait until the election day to vote (who knows what kind of tricks Trump is going to pull on election day). So by mail it is.

[BumRushDaShow]

10. I think that was the issue for Fairfax, VA

it looks like there was a single "early voting" location so that meant a huge line.

I voted by mail the very first time when the option was made availabe during this past primary (at least under the new law because I had voted absentee by mail the years I was away from home in college), and I was fortunately able to do so with a smooth process. I had registered for it as soon as I saw the state site had opened for mail-in applications and I received email status updates along the way as the application was approved and sent to the city, when the city had sent the ballot to me, and when the city had received the completed ballot back from me, with a confirmation that my ballot had "been received and duly recorded".

And agree about not waiting when I don't have to. Back on July 9th, the state had sent me an email confirming that I was still registered for "mail voting" and that as soon as ballots were ready, I would get one. But right now, because of the issues with COVID-19, my long time polling location (for "in person" ) had been closed during the primary and there were only 2 large locations in my election Ward that people could use vs the 10 or so that the Ward had in the past.

Basically the city had dropped down from around 800 locations to cover almost 1700 divisions (precincts), to around 150 locations for that same number of divisions. Now they are going to try to open back up 800 polling locations, although in some cases in different facilities, but they are still in the process of identifying where all of them will be (e.g., some had been in senior centers and those facilities are either closed or restricted due to the residents), and so far, my Ward still only shows one tentative location instead of at least 8 - 10.

[LisaL]

11. Va apparently is going to open more early voting locations closer to the election.

OH won't. We only have one per county, and in a county with over a million people, there are going to be lines like this all the time at our early voting place (I voted early in 2016, but there was no pandemic, so I didn't mind being around lots of people).
And waiting until the election day is dangerous, as far as I am concerned. Today Trumpers showed up with their signs and flags at the early voting place in Va.
I don't doubt this sort of things are going to be happening on election day.
Per Democratic party of our county, they want us to vote early, either in person or by mail.