Election Off to Smooth Start in City

Election day is off and running in Fredericksburg, with more than 1,600 people having cast ballots by late morning. At the five polling locations across the city, voters and vote officials report no glitches or complaints so far.

"They seem to be going quite well, " said Fredericksburg Voter Registrar Juanita Pitchford of the elections so far. According to numbers from the Registrar's Office, a total of 1,635 people had voted by 11 a.m.

Ward 1 voters in Precinct 101 have been the most active so far, with 491 ballots cast as of 11 a.m. Precinct 301, covering Ward 3, had 425 voters in that time, followed by Ward 2 voters in Precinct 201 with 410 votes and Ward 4 voters in precinct 401 had 212 voters. The new 402 Precinct for Ward Four voters, recently created as a result of the city's redistricting process, had the lowest number of votes cast as of 11 a.m., with only 97 ballots cast.

Updated precinct information is being updated hourly at the Registrar's office, and the city Electoral Board is traveling from precinct to precinct to inspect voting operations.

Also keeping a close eye on activites are volunteers for the various campaigns. At each polling place, nearly, a campaign representative is on hand a distance away from the entrance to the polling place to support their candidates and pass on complaints to campaign higher-ups.

"It's been steady, but sparse," reports Phil Heime, a volunteer with Jeff Small's campaign for Circuit Court Clerk. He had been on the scene at the Ward 2 polling place at the Dorothy Hart Community Center since 10 a.m., about an hour before being interviewed. "I don't think I've seen more than 100 people go through here."

Sylvia Robinson, a supporter of candidate Jeff Ahearn was also present outside the Ward 2 polling place.

"Go out and vote," she urged the public, both in interviews and in a letter to the editor published in today's Free Lance-Star. "I came from Puerto Rico, and everybody voted in Puerto Rico. I was shocked when I came to my country and found out that 40 to 60 percent don't vote. It's one of the things our forefathers fought for."