Post-election hangover
Wednesday, Feb. 13 at 4:15 p.m.
The day after working during an election always feels the same – like the day can't go by quick enough. At the end of the night, there's still adrenaline flowing, so there's no going to bed at a reasonable hour. In my newspaper days, I stayed up until about 4 a.m. watching the Bush-Kerry results come in, only to get up the next morning and go back to work to publish an "Extra" edition.

Although I was probably asleep by 1 a.m. this morning, I still had that excited feeling this morning when I woke up. There's something about watching election returns come in that fascinates me.

Looking at Virginia and Richmond numbers, I am impressed with voter turnout. While the final figures still haven't come in, it's looking like it's close to 30 percent. I am still trying to grasp the numbers with how many people cast ballots for Democrats, considering how "red" everyone in the political world thinks Virginia is. Let's see, two Democratic governors in a row, one U.S. senator who's a Democrat, a popular former Democratic governor running for U.S. Senate ...

After yesterday, it appears there's still a long way to go in this process. While exciting, it's also exhausting, and I hope that people don't tune out to the issues or candidates. Picking presidential nominees is important, despite the fact that November seems like a long, long way away.

-- David Hylton, editor

Click here to check out the primary results from Virginia and the Richmond area.

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Done...uh, Almost Done
Tuesday, Feb. 12 at 11:40 p.m.
Though the boys at the major networks called the primaries hours ago, it may be a few days before all of Greater Richmond's votes are deemed official.
 
Why? Because you voters put a real hurtin' on the polling stations in Greater Richmond. Though you may have experienced long lines and an extra lengthy wait to get your vote in, the voting officials on the other side of the table were truly scrambling tonight.
 
Due to an unexpected record-breaking turnout of voters locally and statewide, Virginia State Board of Elections secretary Nancy Rodrigues said several last-minute actions had to be taken to make sure all votes were counted. In Henrico County, additional personnel were called in to help speed lines along; in Chesterfield County some precincts actually ran out of ballots.
 
"We started receiving reports late in the afternoon that polling places in Chesterfield were running out of ballots," Rodrigues said. "We contacted the registrar's office and offered our assistance. They said they were copying them as we [spoke] but still needed to find a way to get them to the polling places. That is when we contacted the [Virginia] State Police and they were there within minutes."
 
Though it took a few trips for the troopers to courier the ballots to the polling places in need, concerns were later brought up about the legitimacy and legality of the makeshift ballots. Though Rodrigues said her office will wait until Chesterfield County has made a decision on the issue to take action, she said she can’t remember another time when this situation has arisen in Virginia.
 
"Ballots do require the county seal on the other side [and] I am not sure what was done in Chesterfield, but I would rather hold judgment until I see exactly what was done," she said.
 
So, why didn't they have enough?
 
"One of the greatest things about the election process is that it is done at a local level," Rodrigues said. "I believe that the general registrar has spent considerable time studying statistics from the past to see what the voter turnout was and what to expect for voter turnout. I believe that in this particular instance he completely underestimated the crowd."
 
Well, we sure hope it is as simple as that. Now that Virginia is officially recognized on the primary map, it would be a shame if we were just as quickly thrown into the "Most Likely to Screw Up A National Election" category with Florida.
 
-- Kent Jennings Brockwell, associate editor

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Exit poll this
Tuesday, Feb. 12 at 4 p.m.
It may be a gray and nasty day outside, but it certainly is an exciting day in Virginia politics.

Political fever is in the air and everywhere I go today I see those "I Voted" stickers proudly displayed. In fact, as we just reported, the Virginia State Board of Elections is predicting a 30 percent to 40 percent turnout of registered voters. That's a pretty striking statistic considering that turnout in the last presidential primary in 2004 was 9.32 percent.

So as we Richmonders continue to flood our voting precincts and the local and national media twiddle their thumbs waiting to count the votes to determine where Virginia's delegates will go, I thought we'd take a moment to find out what Richmonders think about all of this.

According to the national pollsters, leading into "Chesapeake Tuesday" (or whatever ridiculous name they made up for us), Barack Obama is ahead 2 to 1 in the Democratic race. And John McCain is significantly ahead of Mike Huckabee on the Republican side.

The exit polls haven't been released yet, but according to the pollster at my precinct, Obama is "overwhelmingly" ahead in the polls conducted for CNN.

What about the place where you vote, Richmond? Where do your neighbors seem to be leaning? Just go to the comments section below to join the conversation.

-- Karri Peifer, arts and entertainment writer

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A busy day so far
Tuesday, Feb. 12 at 2:05 p.m.
In the State Board of Elections office in downtown Richmond this morning, the phone has not stopped ringing.

"State Board of Elections. How may I help you?"

"7 p.m. Yes, ma'am. That's when the polls close."

"State Board of Elections. How may I help you?"

"How long has it been since he moved?

The dumbest question received so far? "Are we having some type of election today?"

Though the office received 8,000 phone calls in all of last week, they received 8,000 on Monday alone and 1,100 by 1 p.m. today.

So far, voter turnout across the state has been heavy, said Susan Pollard, spokeswoman for the State Board of Elections.

The board is expecting a 30 percent to 40 percent turnout of registered voters, she said, which is nearly four times the percent who voted in the last presidential primary in Virginia in 2004.

The heavy turnout and shortage of poll workers has caused long lines in many polling places, such as Varina, Charlottesville, Danville, Bristol, Suffolk and the counties of Arlington, Chesterfield and Henrico. Pollard urged voters to consider voting between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., a historically slow time during the day.

Though the polls close at 7 p.m., people who are already in line will be allowed to vote, she said.

Pollard also advised the public that though they must pick a political party to vote in today's primary because it's a primary, it does not tie them to a party at the November election.

Of the 32,000 absentee ballots already received, more ballots for Democrats than Republicans had been requested by a margin of almost two to one, Pollard said. But absentee ballots typically make up only 1 percent of the registered voters, she said.

-- Dionne Waugh, news writer

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We endorse … the act of voting
Monday, Feb. 11 at 2:50 p.m.
Do political endorsements really mean anything? In most cases, I'd say no. So that's why I'm taking my usual stance since I became an editor to endorse voting. I could tell you why to vote for a certain candidate, but do you really care? I think you'd probably care more about the process of why we chose which candidate to vote for rather than the person. It's definitely more interesting.

With my newspaper background, or more specifically my background of a big corporation trying to dictate things on Opinion pages, it's an interesting process. You have these things called "editorial boards" in which a very small fraction of the employees decide who to endorse. At smaller newspapers these boards are often just a publisher, an opinion page editor and maybe the managing editor. Sometimes, no matter what the circulation size of the paper is, you'll have the suits in another city telling you who to endorse. It's not a pretty process.

So, despite being a member of the media, I'm telling you to ignore much of the media out there and vote with your brain and your heart tomorrow. If you don't vote, don't complain.

On a side note, stay with Richmond.com tomorrow as we bring you election coverage during the day and into the early night. If you see something strange going on at your polling place, or have an Election Day story to tell, send an email to david.hylton@corp.richmond.com.

-- David Hylton, editor

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Campaigning in Virginia
Saturday, Feb. 9 at 5:55 p.m.
As we prepare to head off to cover Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama at the same event (how often has that happened at a non-debate?), word has slowly trickled in that two Republicans will be in the Richmond area over the next couple of days.

On Sunday, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee will speak at Swift Creek Baptist Church in Chesterfield County at 7511 North Spring Run Road. Earlier in the day, Huckabee will be speaking at the late Rev. Jerry Falwell's Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg.

The following day, Huckabee will begin his day with an 8 a.m. rally at the Sheraton Richmond West Hotel at 6624 West Broad St. His day will take him from Richmond to Virginia Beach to Weyers Cave and will end in Roanoke, according to his campaign Web site.

Also on Monday, Sen. John McCain will attend a rally at the Virginia Aviation Museum at 5:30 p.m. Virginia Sen. John Warner will be on hand to introduce McCain.

McCain will attend an election night party in Alexandria on Tuesday, according to his Web site.

So prepare yourself Virginia, the national spotlight is beginning to shine a little brighter this weekend.

-- David Hylton, editor

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And then there were three
Thursday, Feb. 7 at 1:40 p.m.
The Republican field for president got a little thinner today as Mitt Romney suspended his campaign. The exit of the former Massachusetts governor leaves three Republicans officially in the race: John McCain, Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul. McCain captured big wins on Super Tuesday and is widely considered the front-runner.

On another note, the current Web poll question on the Richmond.com homepage asks whether you plan to vote Tuesday - head there now and cast your ballot. You can even vote "American Idol" style if you'd like and vote more than once. The poll question can be found on the lower right side of the page. The question will change tomorrow afternoon, so vote now!

-- David Hylton, editor

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Obama, Clinton coming to Richmond 
Thursday, Feb. 7 at 9:30 a.m.
It's official. The top two contenders for the Democratic presidential nominee -- Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton -- will be in Richmond this Saturday night. The pair will be addressing Democrats at the annual Jefferson-Jackson dinner, which is being held at the Virginia Commonwealth University Siegel Center.

-- Dionne Waugh, news writer

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Women for Obama
Wednesday, Feb. 6 at noon
In yet another sign of how important Virginia is this year in the presidential nomination process, a group of prominent women announced today that they're endorsing Sen. Barack Obama for president.

Virginia's first lady Anne Holton – the wife of Gov. Tim Kaine – is leading the group's effort, saying in a conference call that Obama is "the man for the moment." She said that Obama has excellent judgment and has the ability to bring people with different backgrounds together.

Holton also stressed Obama's electibility, saying that he has the ability to reach out to all Virginians.

"Virginians have had enough of politics as usual," she said.

Joining Holton on this morning's conference call was Megan Beyer, wife of former Virginia Lt. Gov. Don Beyer; Hampton Treasurer Molly War; and Laverne Chatman, president of the Northern Virginia Urban League.

Holton said that more than 150 prominent women in Virginia have signed on to support Obama.

-- David Hylton, editor

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One thing is clear: Virginia will matter
Wednesday, Feb. 6 at 9:40 a.m.
Not all that long ago, everybody who followed politics thought that "Super Tuesday" will be the end to deciding who the candidates for president would be. Last night, though, proved that everybody was wrong. And guess what? Virginia will matter next week. (Haven't we been saying that all along?)

Before Virginians get their say in the nomination process, other states will be voting in the next few days. It's still highly unlikely, though, that either race will be decided. Here's who is voting in the next week:

Saturday, Feb. 9
Kansas (Republican caucus)
Louisiana primaries (both parties)
Nebraska (Democratic caucus)
Washington caucuses (both parties)

Sunday, Feb. 10
Maine caucus (Democratic caucus)

Tuesday, Feb. 12
Washington, D.C., primaries (both parties)
Maryland primaries (both parties)
Virginia primaries (both parties)

In the next week, Virginia has the most delegates up for grabs – for an explanation on Virginia's process, see University of Richmond professor Daniel J. Palazzolo's explanation below.

So what do you think about the race now Virginia? Have you made up your mind? Leave your thoughts and comments in the section below.

-- David Hylton, editor

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The big day finally arrives
Feb. 5, 2008 at noon
Super Tuesday is finally here. And I, for one, am pumped.

Today, Americans in 24 states get to make their voices heard in what's being called the most excited primary day in recent history. It truly is democracy in action.

Richmonders, though, have to wait another week (that's right, next Tuesday, Feb. 12 is our primary) to rock their own vote. And tonight, as we sit on the sidelines, we'll get to see whether or not those votes will even matter.

The early word is that the Republican Party will have a nominee by tomorrow morning. Will it be Sen. John McCain or Gov. Mitt Romney? Or will Gov. Mike Huckabee and Congressman Ron Paul pull an upset and take the lead? Tell us your thoughts, Richmond.

As for the Democrats, the race is still neck and neck. Some polls have Sen. Hillary Clinton ahead, others favor Sen. Barack Obama. And that means that, while tonight is certain to be exciting, the nation's eyes will be on Virginia next Tuesday, along with Maryland and the District of Columbia.

What do you think, Richmond? Will you be watching the returns tonight? Who do you think will win? And will you be voting next week in Virginia's primary?

-- Karri Peifer, arts and entertainment writer

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So, yesterday there was the Super Bowl and tomorrow there is Super Tuesday. What does that make today?

-- David Hylton, editor

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Yes, Virginia, your votes matter
Thursday, Jan. 31 at 1:45 p.m.
The simple answer to whether or not Virginia's primaries on Feb. 12 matter is yes. Earlier this week I emailed several University of Richmond political science professors and asked them what they thought about Virginia making a difference in choosing the candidates for president.

Here's what professor Daniel J. Palazzolo had to say:

The ultimate goal of the presidential nomination process is for candidates to earn a majority of delegates to the national convention. At the moment, none of the leading candidates in either party is likely to deliver a knock out blow on Super Tuesday, Feb. 5, because none of them is likely to have a majority of delegates or to have won enough to be considered the inevitable winner of a majority of delegates by then.

Interestingly, while Virginia will matter for both parties, it will matter for different reasons. The Democratic nomination is not likely to be decided because national party rules require each state to allocate their delegates as a proportion of the vote at both the congressional district and state levels. Thus, even candidates who "win" a state by winning a plurality of the vote will only get a portion of the delegates from that state. Since the Democratic race is really down to two major candidates, Clinton and Obama are likely to split the delegate count on Super Tuesday; even the candidate who wins a big state, like California or New York, will not get all the delegates from that state. 

Republican rules on the other had permit states to allocate all of the delegates to the candidate who wins the most votes. These "winner take all" states muddle the outcome because there may be more than two candidates who can win states on Feb 5.  We assume that McCain and Romney will win some of the states, but Huckabee may win one or more of the southern states by a small margin. Alabama, for instance, is a winner-take-all state.

Since Virginia is a winner-take-all state in the Republican party, it becomes even more important to Republican candidates.

-- David Hylton, editor
What are your thoughts on the primary season? Leave your comments below or email them to david.hylton@corp.richmond.com.

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Media treatment
Thursday, Jan. 31, 2008 at 11:15 a.m.
I, for one, think this is an exciting time for Virginia. Our primaries are just over a week away and the word on the street is that it's the late states that are going to make a difference -- for the Democrats anyway.

The media and pundits say that the Republicans will have it locked up by Super Tuesday. So does that mean that the votes of Virginia Republicans won't matter? Tell us your thoughts.

But speaking of the national media, it's received a lot of criticism this primary season for candidate bias. Ron Paul supporters, for example, say that he's been largely ignored. For much of the race Paul had more votes and delegates than Rudy Giuliani. Yet Giuliani was labeled a "first-tier candidate" while Paul went unmentioned.

I noticed similar treatment of John Edwards. Though the former North Carolina senator was in the race until yesterday, the media seemed to treat the Democratic Party primaries as two-person race for months.

What do you think, Richmond? Did the media unjustifiably ignore some presidential candidates? Or was its coverage a reflection of who the voters were interest in? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below, or email them to david.hylton@corp.richmond.com.

-- Karri Peifer, arts and entertainment writer
About my voting record: I voted for Clinton, Gore and Kerry -- in that order. The first primary I participated in was in 2004 and I voted for Edwards. So what does that make me? For the sake of full-disclosure, I'll tell you, I'm a raging liberal.

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What's in a month?
Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2008
Take note: It's still January. In the big picture of life, a month isn't much. But in the political world, a month is an eternity. And in another month, even more will change.

A month ago, no one had any idea who the candidates for president would be. Now, it appears it's really down to four. Over the next few days, the national media will have you believe that Super Tuesday – the day in which many state cast their ballots in primaries – is the day that true frontrunners will emerge and never look back.

Not so fast. Virginia voters will to have their say on Feb. 12 on who the nominees will be. But will it matter by then? After Super Tuesday, Brian Williams, Katie Couric, Wolf Blitzer, Keith Olberman and many others out there will probably tell you otherwise. Don't you care fellow Virginians whether or not your votes on Feb. 12 will really matter? Shouldn't we have a say before candidates decide to bow out?

It's been a long political month, but we'd like to hear from you on anything concerning the race for the White House so far! Leave your thoughts in the comments section below, or email them to david.hylton@corp.richmond.com.

-- David Hylton, editor
About my voting record: I voted for Bill Clinton when I was 18, Ralph Nader in 2000 and George Bush in 2004. What does that make me?