Despite long lines and short tempers at several polling locations
Tuesday, the state's first go-around with its new voter
identification law ended with few problems reported, officials said.
The General Assembly this year passed a law that required
residents to bring one of nine accepted forms of identification to
the polls, a list that ranged from Social Security cards and
driver's licenses to paychecks and utility bills.
The fear for opponents of the law was that requiring
identification would suppress voter turnout and disenfranchise some
voters, many of them Democrats.
But on Tuesday, poll workers across the region said most voters
seemed familiar with the requirements and few were turned away for
not having proper identification. The bigger problem seemed to be
some longer-than-normal wait times as poll workers verified IDs.
There are 4.7 million registered voters in Virginia, with nearly
700,000 in Hampton Roads. Poll workers were required to check names,
addresses and other details before voters were handed their ballots.
The State Board of Elections spent almost $2 million in state and
federal money to mail voter ID cards to registered voters and to pay
for a massive effort to educate the public on changes to the law.
The Republican and Democratic parties also have taken part in the
process, making voter education a component of campaign efforts.
But still, problems occur in every election. Rachel Champagne was
shocked when she was called out of the voting line in Virginia Beach
and told that records showed she had already cast an absentee
ballot.
Champagne, a 27-year-old administrative assistant for a mortgage
sub-servicing company, said she had not voted absentee. An election
official told her that her name may have been marked in the system
as an absentee voter by mistake, or it could have been the result of
voter fraud, she said. Champagne said she suspects a system error is
most likely to blame.
The precinct worker told Champagne she would have to fill out a
provisional ballot, which she did. The ballot told her she could go
to a municipal building today to see whether her provisional ballot
is accepted.
Pilot writers Dave Forster and Cindy Clayton contributed to this
report.
