Key race draws low turnout in Virginia primary voting

Democratic primary voter’s guide
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Virginia’s three-way battle for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination is in the hands of voters who are turning out in apparently small numbers to decide the top of the ticket and a handful of other races.

Analysts predicted a light turnout despite a contentious three-way race for the gubernatorial nomination between R. Creigh Deeds, Terry McAuliffe and Brian J. Moran, and that seemed to hold true in the Richmond area today.

Poll workers at precincts around the capital region reported scant voter turnout, with campaign volunteers or paid staffers outside precincts seeking shady spots away from the sweltering heat.

From Mary Munford Elementary School to Retreat Doctors’ Hospital, incumbent Richmond Sheriff C.T. Woody was the only candidate who had campaign workers handing out literature, at least as of about 11 a.m.

The East End City Hall on 25th Street had about 177 voters as of 12:30 p.m., and volunteers outside said Lt. Governor hopeful Jody Wagner had stopped by to shake hands this morning.

Early voting was also light in suburban Henrico County, which reported no major problems at the polls. Voters were waiting when some Henrico polls opened at 6 a.m., Registrar Mark J. Coakley said. “So that’s a good sign.“

But at one precinct in Henrico’s West End, only 15 people had voted in the first two hours the polls were open. And polling staffers outnumbered voters for most of the morning at the Nuckols Farm Elementary School precinct in western Henrico County near the Goochland County line.

In Republican-leaning Chesterfield County, turnout was also described as light, said Registrar Lawrence C. Haake.

“We’re just standing by, waiting for the voters,“ he said.

At J.G. Hening Elementary School, which was split from another precinct after voting problems in last year’s primary, only 18 out of 1,500 registered voters had cast ballots by 11:15 a.m.

In Chesterfield’s Bon Air precinct, near the Richmond city limits, 96 of about 3,100 registered voters cast ballots by 10:30 a.m., compared to 1,225 at the same time during the presidential election, a poll worker said.

“I voted for the candidate I think will beat the Republicans,” said Carol Mazur. “And that’s coming from almost a lifelong Republican.”

Richmond Registrar J. Kirk Showalter said voters at one precinct had to use paper ballots initially because a poll worker had brought the wrong card to operate the machines But she said the problem was handled according to procedure until the machines could be turned on. “It wouldn’t be an election morning if we didn’t have hiccups,“ she said.

Otherwise, Showalter said, “Voting is going fairly lightly, as we expected.“

By 8 a.m. at the Elmont Precinct in heavily Republican Hanover County, there had been only nine votes cast in the Democratic primary, but 23 had voted in the Republican primary for the 55th House District race to fill the seat of retiring Del. Frank D. Hargrove, R-Hanover.

The polls close at 7 p.m.

A late surge by Deeds again is forcing McAuliffe and Moran to attack Deeds over his pro-gun stance, including attempts in 2008 and this year to overturn a veto by departing Gov. Timothy M. Kaine of legislation banning concealed firearms in bars.

Strategists suggest that an unknown heading into the first Democratic primary for governor in 32 years is the impact of get-out-the-vote apparatuses assembled by the candidates largely out of view.

The cost of the election to taxpayers could not be determined immediately, though Virginia localities spent nearly $3.2 million in the 2008 presidential primary.

In addition to selecting an opponent to Republican gubernatorial nominee Bob McDonnell, a former attorney general, voters will pick a Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor and settle House of Delegates nominations in 12 district primaries.

Jody Wagner, a former secretary of finance in the Kaine administration, and former gubernatorial aide Mike Signer are vying to take on Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, a Republican seeking a second term.

Locally, primaries are being held for House seats open because of the retirements of Hargrove and Democrat Franklin P. Hall of Richmond.

Virginia has about 5 million registered voters, but turnout is expected to be below 5 percent. Relatively few absentee ballots have been cast so far—about 10,000 of nearly 15,000 applications, according to the State Board of Elections.

Weather could keep some voters home. The forecast is calling for afternoon showers and thunderstorms, perhaps severe.

With Deeds ahead in a final pre-primary poll, former frontrunner McAuliffe is attempting to slow momentum for the state senator from rural Bath County by suggesting his record on firearms is antithetical to Democrats.

During a rally outside a Richmond coffee shop that drew about 80 supporters, McAuliffe, a former Democratic National Committee chairman who lives in McLean, joked that taverns can be violent places without guns: “Trust me, I’m Irish; I understand.“

Meanwhile, a survivor of the Virginia Tech mass-shooting and a relative of a student killed in the 2007 tragedy circulated an e-mail urging Democrats to oppose Deeds because he resists gun control.

“Keeping the people we love safe is the single most important issue to us, and that’s why Senator Deeds won’t be getting our vote on Tuesday,“ wrote Omar Samaha and Colin Goddard. “We urge other Virginians to vote on Tuesday for the other Democrats.“

Deeds, backed by the National Rifle Association for attorney general over McDonnell in 2005, this year pushed for compromise to close a loophole allowing some purchases at firearms shows without compulsory background checks.

Moran, a former delegate from Alexandria who has pelted Deeds for fighting the one-handgun-a-month law enacted in 1993 under Democratic Gov. L. Douglas Wilder, wrapped up in his hometown with a rally near City Hall that organizers said attracted about 300 people.

In Richmond on Sunday night, Deeds called McAuliffe’s attacks a sign of desperation. Deeds said he is a “middle-of-the-road guy” whose stances will appeal to a broad swath of the electorate.

“I’m the only person that’s ever had to reach out and get Republican votes and independent votes, and in Virginia you have to do that,“ Deeds said.

In a continuing play for black votes, Deeds picked up a late endorsement from another of the Richmond area’s leading black politicians, state Sen. A. Donald McEachin, D-Henrico.

Staff writers Wesley P. Hester, John Hoke, Michael Martz, Olympia Meola, Jim Nolan, Tyler Whitley and Jeff E. Schapiro contributed to this report.