Friday, November 9, 2012
Fairfax County Supervisor says group should look at long waiting times at some polling spots and recommend ways to improve.
Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chair Sharon Bulova says she will recommend a commission to look ways to improve the county's efficiency on Election Day. Bulova says she was concerned about long lines, wait times and other voting issues. Voter turnout for the 2012 election in Fairfax County was 80.5 percent. In the last presidential election, the turnout was 78.7 percent (with 72,501 fewer registered voters than today), county officials said. Meanwhile, absentee voting in the county was down 2.7 percent from 2008. Lines and waits varied widely in Fairfax County. In Reston, reported waits varied from a minute to about 30 minutes at peak time in the morning. Bulova says she waited just 20 minutes at Villa precinct Tuesday morning at …
Thursday, November 1, 2012
This month, the doctor takes a look at how our brain affects our vote.
Patch contributor Dr. Mike takes a break from reader questions this month and ponders the psychological basis for our voting decisions. Polls show President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney neck and neck in their race for the presidency. And with the election just days away, both gentlemen are working hard to secure your vote and a victory. The economy. Obamacare. Foreign policy. Medicare. Education. Social Security. But what if these political issues, or at least how you feel about them, are actually not entirely in your control? What if the vote you cast on Nov. 6 turns out to be influenced more by your gray matter than by campaign ads, debates, career records or bus tours? Scientific research over the past several years has …
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Changing demographics and the weight of Northern Virginia turn Virginia "purple" in 2012 and make the commonwealth a swing state to watch.
In the past few weeks, both President Barack Obama and Republican candidate Mitt Romney have visited Virginia and said that the swing state may be one of the deciding states in this year’s election. It’s known that there are several key states in the electoral college this year. Ohio — which is also a swing state — and Florida are both crucial states along with a few others. No Republican president has ever won the election without winning Ohio. Mark Rozell, a professor of public policy at George Mason University, said Virginia is now one of those swing states that will likely determine the outcome of this year’s election. One reason: Virginia voters had not chosen a Democrat for president since the 1960s, but then-candidate Barack Obama …
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Voters have until Saturday afternoon to vote absentee at Fairfax County Government Center.
Registered voters in Fairfax County who want to vote absentee have until Saturday to do so. Absentee voting will be available: You may vote absentee if you will be unable to vote in person on Primary Election Day, which is Tuesday, June 12. Weekend Voting Absentee voting also will be available Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. during Celebrate Fairfax! Absentee voters who are not attending the annual county festival may encounter traffic jams and are encouraged to vote Wednesday, Thursday or Friday. Voters who want to vote on Saturday (but do not want to attend the festival) should go to the Green Gate and inform the event staff that they are there to vote. For more information on voting and the June 12 primary, visit Fairfax County Office of…
Monday, October 31, 2011
In their response to the first of six questions posed by Patch, the candidates for Chairman of the Board of Supervisors discuss county versus state control of area roads.
The four candidates running for chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors answered six questions by email for Patch. We will feature one question over the next six days, with the unedited answers by each of the candidates. Incumbent Democrat Sharon Bulova (website, Facebook, Twitter) Independent Christopher DeCarlo (website, YouTube) Republican Michael “Spike” Williams (website, Facebook) Independent Will Radle (Facebook, YouTube) Question #1: Should Fairfax County take local control of its roads, as some surrounding jurisdictions, or allow VDOT's continued control? Explain. Sharon Bulova The State is increasingly making overtures about turning the road system (which is now pretty much entirely a State responsibility) over to …
T Ailshire
11:16 am on Sunday, November 11, 2012
In previous years, I had been told no cell phones in the polling place, so I left mine in the car. What was different this year? I could have been more productive (though I did get an hour's worth of reading in). more ›