Election Day 2012: Voters Contend with Long Lines

4 p.m. Principi to hold press conference 

Prince William Woodbridge District Supervisor Frank Principi will hold a press conference at 4 p.m. to discuss the long lines at polling places in eastern Prince William County.

More as we have it.

1 p.m. Some voting machines in Prince William deactivated 

A few malfunctioning polling machines and long lines are the story in Prince William County.

Of the 400 polling machines in Prince William, a handful of them – at a voting precinct at Alvey Elementary School and another at the Prince William County Department of Parks and Recreation – had to be taken out of service today.

At issue is the automatic activation setting on the polling machines not working. Normally, poll workers give voters a card to insert into the polling machine which activates it the machine and brings up the ballot.

When the card readers stopped working on the malfunctioning machines, poll workers had to push a button to activate the ballot each time a new voter entered the booth, said Prince William County Voter Registrar Betty Weimer.

Another polling machine at the parks department had a screen that malfunctioned and it had to be deactivated, said Weimer.

 With long lines at many of the precincts, Weimer assures everyone who is in line when the polls close at 7 p.m. will still be allowed to vote.

12:30 p.m.

Long lines of voters continue pour into Potomac Middle School in Woodbridge.

In Stafford County, the line at Rock Hill Baptist Church has also been long with nearly 1,000 voters seen at the small country church just before noon.

 

11 a.m. The view from C.D. Hylton High School in Woodbridge

A long line of voters turn out at a polling place C.D. Hylton High School in Woodbridge. 

10:45 a.m. In line by 7 p.m., you can still vote

Officials in Prince William County remind voters those in line by 7 p.m. will be allowed to cast their votes.

They say they’re aware of the long lines today at polling places and are working to ensure everyone has a chance to vote.

If you see problems at polling places, please email us.

9:35 a.m. Long lines in Woodbridge

The line at Potomac Library in Woodbridge wraps around the parking lot. Woodbridge resident Angela Davenport tells us she waited in line to vote for at least one and a half hours before getting inside the building.

9:30 a.m. Large turnout in Manassas

All of those reports of long lines at polling places in the Manassas area are true, so said the city’s voter registrar Linda Womack.

About 600 people waited in line to vote at Grace E. Metz Middle School in Manassas at 8:30 a.m. At nearby Baldwin Elementary, lines wrapped out the door, down a sidewalk, and out to tennis courts, said Womack.

The city said only one of the 47 voting machines was taken out of service because a screen did not work properly.

Womack said more paper ballots from residents who choose to vote absentee continue to roll in.

At nearby Sinclair Elementary School in Prince William County, at least 500 were said to be waiting to vote at 9 a.m.

 

9 a.m. Emergency ballots used in Stafford 

After a brief rocky start this morning, voting is brisk in Stafford County.

County voter registrar Greg Riddlemoser said some of the ballot scanners were not working correctly and some ballots were rejected. Emergency ballots were brought in and the problem was resolved, he said.

Riddlemoser did not say at which of the county’s 28 voting precincts this occurred.

When the polls close at 7 p.m. Riddlemoser will be responsible for inputting the election data from all of Stafford County’s precincts into the state’s secure computer. The results are then published to the web and to the Associated Press, he said.

Anyone still in line waiting to vote at 7 p.m. will “be absorbed” into the line and will be allowed to cast their ballot, he said.

8:45 a.m. 

Police have been called to regulate parking at some polling locations in Prince William County. 

In Stafford County, extra sheriff’s deputies have been placed on duty in the event any issues arise. Right now, according to sheriff’s spokesman Bill Kennedy, no issues have been reported.

8:40 a.m. 

From Matt Stromberg on Facebook: This was at Baldwin ES (in Manassas)), no parking and over 100 people in line. We waited 45 minutes. The staff were moving people through fairly quickly.

8:10 a.m. 

Are friends on Twitter and Facebook are chiming in:

On Twitter:

@MCGRIFFIN34 Hour and 45 mins to vote #CDHyltonHighSchool. Line is dying down but still outside some

On Facebook:

Michael Orazi: I would estimate 300-400 people at Potomac High inDumfries.

8 a.m. 

At Springwoods Elementary School in Lake Ridge, social and business issues brought voters to the polls.

Some voters who want to re-hire President Barack Obama like his stance on womens issues.

“I want my daughter to grow up to have a choice,” said Deborah Hunter, of Lake Ridge. “I believe in equal pay for women for equal work, and I want my daughter to have the right to choose if she needs or wants and abortion, and to have the right to birth control.”

Romney supporters like his stance on business, which is what brought small-business owner Dan Law out to vote today.

“I need to save my small business. In order for me to be profitable I need to bring on more employees and expand, and Romney understands business, and he knows how to bring people together, and this country will in trouble if we can’t do that.”

When asked, there were more decided voters in this line waiting to choose Obama than Romney.

Virginia Delegate Richard Anderson was also at Springwoods Elementary School handing out Republican sample ballots, as well as greeting voters in his district.

“Everyone is being very civil out here today, and no matter how this thing turns out it’s good for our nation to see so many people here voting,” said Anderson.

About 100 people stood in line outside the elementary school and waited in lines of about an hour and a half long.

All schools in Prince William and Stafford counties are closed today because of the election.

7 a.m. 

Two machines are not working at Sinclair Elementary School. At least 10 people seen leaving.

6:30 a.m.

Good morning on this Election Day 2012.

The polls opened at 6 a.m. and long lines formed early at Sinclair Elementary School in Manassas. Resident Michael Butts tells us at least 300 people were lined up at the school to vote.

At Central Library on Manassas’ Mathis Avenue, about 120 people were lined up to vote.

The polls will be open until 7 p.m. Voters will need to bring an ID with them to vote.

Find out where to you need to go to vote.

Find out who will be on your ballot.

TELL US what conditions at your polling place are by emailing, Twitter, or on Facebook.

SEND US cell phone photos of your neighborhood and help us tell this story.