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Virginia Beach polling locations see steady flow of voters

As of 5 p.m. on Tuesday, election officials said so far 67,000 voters turned out in Virginia Beach.
Virginia Beach Voter Turn Out
Virginia Beach Voter Turn Out
Virginia Beach Voter Turn Out
Posted at 6:37 PM, Nov 07, 2023
and last updated 2023-11-07 18:37:38-05

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Polling locations in Virginia Beach were slow and steady on election day with only one issue reported by election officials.

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Ahead of Election Day roughly 38,000 people voted early and as of 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Virginia Beach saw 67,000 voters turn out.

While precincts had a constant flow some voters said they were in and out in just minutes.

"[It took] under three minutes," David Thornton, a voter near the Ocean Front said.

While others said it felt like a few seconds.

"Usain Bolt was the only thing quicker," Fred Harbison, a voter, said.

Over at Galilee Church, election officials said they saw more than 500 voters before 11 a.m.

Virginia Beach Voter Turn Out
The voting location inside the Kempsville Library.

The Virginia Beach Electoral Board said there are a few reasons for the steady flow of traffic including the number of names on the ballot.

"This is very simple partially because there are only three races on any ballot," David Belote, with the Virginia Beach Electoral Board.

Belote said another reason is because of the recent implementation of electronic poll books.

"You can scan the back of your driver's license and it shows the election worker, yes you live in this precinct, or no you haven't been issued a vote," Belote said. "It's seamless."

Belote said while he's been working elections for some time now, there was one small issue in the morning, involving DJs set up outside of polling precincts.

"It's something none of us who have been involved with the board had ever seen before," Belote said.

Belote said the DJs were set up near at least three polling locations.

Each time he had to read the state code, citing you cannot use loud speakers within 300 feet of a polling location.

"One actually said well we want to make this fun for young people and I said I'm sorry our job is not to make it fun," Belote said. "It's to make it smooth, transparent, and make it as easy as possible for someone to get to come in, they get to cast their vote, and go home."

Belote said each DJ was polite and packed up their gear when asked to leave.