VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — With almost two weeks remaining before the Aug. 4 primary election, election officials in Virginia Beach say early voter turnout is low.
Despite ballots for both Democratic and Republican voters, the city's election office has seen relatively light participation during the early voting period.
"The turnout has been very low," said Christine Lewis, Virginia Beach's director of elections. "We've had about 6,700 mail ballots returned and about 1,200 people vote in person, and that's typically a little bit higher for a June primary."
Democratic voters are choosing a nominee to challenge U.S. Rep. Jen Kiggans in Virginia's 2nd Congressional District, while Republican voters are selecting a nominee to run against U.S. Sen. Mark Warner.
The primary was originally scheduled for June but was postponed until August earlier this year to give election officials more time to prepare for the possibility of congressional redistricting. That redistricting effort ultimately did not move forward.
Inside the Virginia Beach voting location, election officials rang bells as one of the city's voting machines processed its 1,000th ballot Thursday.
"Yay, I did my civic duty," voter Noreen Rodgers said after casting the milestone ballot.
Rodgers said she and her husband stopped to vote after returning from Norfolk and were surprised to find the polling location nearly empty.
"Hopefully when they see this TV thing, they'll go out and vote — see me on the news," Rodgers said.
Virginia Beach is not alone in experiencing low turnout.
Election officials in Chesapeake said fewer than 600 voters had cast ballots in person during early voting, while Suffolk reported fewer than 400 in-person early votes.
Lewis said the timing of the election may be contributing to the lower turnout.
"Because it's in August, people are taking vacations and they don't know there's a primary going on," Lewis said.
Early voting for the Aug. 4 primary continues through Aug. 1.
Those looking to early vote can cast their ballot at the Virginia Beach elections office which has recently located to 500 Studio Drive next other Mount Trashmore.
Click here to see how we use AI at WTKR News 3.
