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Kaine: Virginia's ready to handle presidential election

06:11 PM EDT on Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Associated Press & WVEC.com

RICHMOND (AP) -- The Virginia NAACP has sued Gov. Tim Kaine, arguing that the state failed to prepare for an unprecedented turnout of voters in next week's presidential election.

Video: Virginia prepares for historic voter turnout
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The complaint, filed late Monday in U.S. District Court in Richmond, alleges that with record increases in voter registration, the state failed to provide enough polling places.

Gov. Tim Kaine Tuesday said Virginia has enough poll workers and voting machines to handle next Tuesday's historic presidential election.

While there will be lines at polling places, he said the State Board of Elections is committed to counting every ballot.

The NAACP asks the court to put the federal government in charge of the election in Virginia, to reallocate voting machines to precincts most likely to have long waiting lines and to keep polls open for an additional two hours.

State elections officials said Tuesday that anyone in line by 7:00 p.m. on Election Day will be able to vote.

They said there’s been talk that the polls are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., but that’s not correct. Polls open at 6:00 a.m. in Virginia and close at 7:00 p.m.

The Virginia State Board of Elections say there are more voting machines this year than in the last presidential election. There were approximately 5,989 in 2004; now there are approximately 10,600 – an increase of 77 percent.

Officials also say that all local jurisdictions are in compliance with the minimum number of voting machines in each precinct as required by the Code of Virginia – one machine for every 750 registered voters for direct electronic voting systems and one voting booth for every 425 registered voters for optical scan systems are used.  Many jurisdictions have two or three times as many machines as required by the law.

Officials also say the State Board and local jurisdictions also have taken steps to address traffic and parking concerns, upgrade call centers to handle voter questions, allow voters to check on the State Board web site to verify where they should vote on Election Day, and secure backup power in case of power loss at voting locations.

With an expected record turnout in Virginia, officials encourage voters to keep in mind that on Election Day polls are traditionally busier from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m., during the lunch hours of 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., and after work from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.  

 

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

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