Election 2012: Oakton Primary Turnout

Update: The Fairfax County Board of Elections updated its voter turnout count at 2 p.m.

• Oak Marr Recreation precinct: 161 of 3,564 active registered voters
• Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Fairfax precinct: 98 of 2,530 active registered voters
• Waples Mill Elementary precinct: 130 of 4,462 active registered voters

A tally of votes at the Oakton High School precinct has not been updated.

----

Oakton voters are heading to the polls today to vote in the Republican primaries for the U.S. Senate and 11th congressional district races, and so far turnout is low.

As of 10 a.m., the precinct at Waples Elementary School has had 73 voters come through the doors out of 4,462 active registered voters.

As of 11:30 a.m., the precinct at Oakton High School saw 50 voters cast their ballots out of 4,399 active registered voters.

The precincts at Oak Marr Recreation Center and Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Fairfax have not reported turnout to the Fairfax County Board of Elections.

Elsewhere in the county, candidates stepped out to the polls themselves and visited other precincts hoping to encourage voters.

Former senator and Gov.  and wife  greeted voters at Washington Mill Elementary School, a precinct near their home in Mount Vernon.

"I had the honor of serving Virginians in the U.S. Senate, as well as governor, and I know the communities and the people, and that’s not something that’s easily done just in a year of campaigning," Allen said. "We have good friendships and relationships throughout Virginia, so the bigger the turnout, the better it’ll be for us. We’re cautiously optimistic.”

The Allens plan to visit other precincts around Northern Virginia today before heading to a rally in Richmond to await results.

Chris S. Perkins arrived at Orange Hunt Elementary School in Springfield at 7 a.m. this morning after voting in his home precinct in Lorton.

"I hear how angry people are about the lack of progress in Congress," said Perkins. "It's important to send the message today that voting is our mechanism for change, and it's important for everyone to get out and vote," he said.

"Vaughn and I are both fiscal conservatives, so it comes down to how serious is your solution," said Perkins.  "Vaughn's solution is to offer massive cuts to balance the budget in just one year," he said.  "My more serious answer is to address regulatory reform over time.  The changes should not just come from budget cuts. Vaughn also supports cuts in defense and veterans benefits, and I just can't support those," he said.

Bob Marshall stepped out of his white Ford Crown Victoria and slowly strolled up the sidewalk of Signal Hill Elementary School in Manassas to cast his ballot at his home precinct. 

“I’m satisfied with what time I had [campaigning]; I can’t tell who’s voting. This is like flying blind with no instruments or anything,” Marshall said of his campaign. “I had a lot of volunteers around Virginia, but clearly we didn’t have the money that (Republican U.S. Senate candidate) George Allen did, but this— at least the way it looks like it's turning out—is a campaign of intensity, not one of name ID. We’ll find out at 7 o'clock tonight how accurate that is.”

Patch editors Susan Larson and Jamie Rogers contributed reporting for this story.

Patch will follow the election throughout the day. Check back for results and reactions after polls close this evening.