If a major voting problem can happen in Chesterfield County during a primary, some are wondering what there is to stop one from popping up in Goochland in November’s presidential election.

That’s the question that has the county’s registrar, Frances Ragland, both worried and straight-to-the-point.

“We’re going to have lines,” she said of the election this fall. “There’s no other way to say it. People are going to have to wait. And we’re going to do everything we can, with what we have to work with, to make things run as well as possible.”

Ragland’s hands are somewhat tied when it comes to the Nov. 4 election. Because of legislation passed by the General Assembly last year, the Goochland County Electoral Board is prohibited from purchasing any more of its voting machines.

Consequently, the electronic machines, of which the county has 40, will be all there is, regardless of the number of voters who turn out to cast their ballots.

Ragland recently made a trip to the state’s Board of Elections to request help, be it in the form of early voting or in the possibility of purchasing more machines.
Those requests, which also went to local representatives in the General Assembly, were not granted.

Sen. Walter A. Stosch, who represents the state’s 12th District, replied to a letter from the Board of Supervisors earlier this month that, with the 2008 session closed, nothing could be done before November.

The board, at the request of Ragland, had asked about the possibility of early voting in light of Goochland’s inability to purchase additional voting machines.

“It’s a shame because after what happened in Chesterfield, everyone wants to be prepared,” Ragland said. “But we can’t do more than just a couple of things to make things easier.”

One of the things she said election officials will do is to split the poll book in Manakin—the county’s busiest precinct—into three.

“That way, we cut down on the length of the lines and the time people are spending in them,” she said, noting that the three books would be split by the first letter of a voter’s last name.

Ragland added that the county will stage what machines it has based on previous voter turnout and number of voters.

Manakin, for instance, will have 10 machines and Centerville six. Both Goochland and Sandy Hook precincts will get five each.

Also, Ragland is asking residents to make sure their voting status is clear as Election Day approaches.

“One of the best ways to prepare is to get registered and make sure you are registered,” she said. “Now is the time to verify that your address is correct and that your name is correct.”

In order to vote in the June 10 primary, voters must be registered by May 12. And for the presidential election in the fall, the deadline is Oct. 13.

With a potential voter number totaling just over 20,000, Goochland is one of the best prepared, with 14,249 voters registered as of last Thursday.

Another way to save time while voting is to make sure your voter card and identification is out and ready to be checked, as opposed to digging into a purse or wallet to recover it.

Ragland is asking that aside from expecting lines, voters should also do their homework, including knowing if they are at the correct polling place before Election Day.

After the substantial turnout in the primary, election officials throughout the state are bracing for a renewed sense of civic involvement this fall.

“We want every resident of Goochland County to be able to vote in this election, which promises to be the biggest ever,” she said. “Voter emotion is at an all-time high. And right now, we’re doing what we can to prepare.”