Polls are closed in Virginia, where voters cast ballots Tuesday to elect a governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general, as well as all members of the 100-seat House of Delegates. Several local offices in the D.C. area are also up for grabs.
The statewide races
Democratic former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, Republican businessman Glenn Youngkin and Liberation Party activist Princess Blanding are the top three candidates for governor.
With 888 precincts out of 2,855 reporting, Youngkin has 58.34% of the vote, with McAuliffe at 40.96% and Blanding at 0.64%.
Youngkin spent time on the campaign trail touting his business background, while keeping Republican Party standard-bearer at arm’s length; McAuliffe sought to tie Youngkin to Trump, while touting his own record as governor from 2014 to 2018.
History will be made whichever way the lieutenant governor’s race breaks, as either Democratic Del. Hala Ayala or Republican former Del. Winsome Sears would be the first woman of color elected to statewide office in Virginia.
With 874 precincts out of 2,855 reporting, Sears is at 58.36%, with Ayala at 41.56%.
The attorney general’s race pits Democratic incumbent Mark Herring against Republican Del. Jason Miyares.
With 873 precincts out of 2,855 reporting, Miyares has 57.84% to Herring’s 42.10%.
Herring touted his efforts on police reform and a dip in overall crime, while Miyares repeatedly brought up an increase in the commonwealth’s homicide rate.
It’s important to remember that many of these precincts do not include absentee and early votes, which could be substantial.
There haven’t been many results from the D.C. area yet.
The House of Delegates
The House races include some close contests in the D.C. area, and Democratic control of the chamber, currently at 55-45, could be up for grabs. You can check out the results, updated live as they come in.
Getting the results
While many more people voted early or by mail than generally did before the pandemic, it shouldn’t take as long to get the results as it did during last year’s presidential and congressional elections.
Virginia used to group all absentee, early and mail-in ballots in a city or county together, and they were processed and counted last, in a central absentee precinct. Last year, that meant a boatload of ballots were waiting until the end of the night to be processed and counted.
The General Assembly changed the law this year, so that local registrars start processing (not counting) these ballots at least seven days before Election Day and counting before the polls close.
Different jurisdictions might do things differently, but Arlington, for example, said Monday that they’ll be breaking up their results so that early in-person ballot counts will be released first, right after the polls close, they hope. Then, they’ll release the results from the mail ballots that arrived through Sunday, then the in-person Election Day ballots. They’re hoping to have it wrapped up around 9 p.m.
That doesn’t mean the results will be official — mail-in ballots that were postmarked Tuesday can still come in by 5 p.m. Friday and still be counted. People who need to add documentation to shore up a provisional ballot have until then, as well.
At the polls
WTOP has been covering the lines, the turnout and voters’ reactions all day. Have a look at our continuing coverage, including photos.
Related Election Coverage
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November 03, 2021 at 06:08AM
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Polls close in Virginia; statewide offices, delegate seats up for grabs - WTOP
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