Some 26% of registered voters in Arlington have shown up to the polls so far on Election Day as of 5 p.m., according to the county elections office.
Adding that to the 26.5% of Arlingtonians who voted early, that means turnout was nearly 53% with two hours until the polls close at 7 p.m.
Only 2 hours left to #vote. Polls close at 7pm. Voters in line at 7pm will be allowed to vote.
5pm turnout estimates are ~26% for polling places.
— Arlington Elections (@ArlingtonVotes) November 2, 2021
That is within shouting distance of 2017’s voter turnout — 59% — which was the highest in more than two decades for a non-presidential election.
Other nearby localities are also seeing high turnout. With still several hours left for voting, Fairfax County is reporting that nearly 50% of those registered have voted. 2017 saw a 56% turnout in that county. Alexandria has had slightly over 51% turnout as of 4 p.m.. In 2017, Alexandria’s turnout was nearly 58%.
The numbers that are currently being reported both locally and statewide have some predicting that this election is going to set a new bar for statewide turnout in a non-presidential election year.
Going to smash all turnout records today for a Governor’s race. I mean seriously smash- going past 3 million total.
— Ben Tribbett (@notlarrysabato) November 2, 2021
Early voting is playing a big role in the turnout numbers this election cycle as well. In Arlington, there were more than three times the number of early votes than compared to 2017.
The high early voting totals plus administrative changes in how those results will be publicly reported could skew the first release of results in surprising ways, tweeted the Virginia Public Access Project.
The only thing less predictable about the results of the @TerryMcAuliffe–@GlennYoungkin is HOW the results will come in tonight. Those who are expecting the traditional sequence of #Virginia results (red areas early; blue areas late) could be in for a big surprise. MORE->
— Virginia Public Access Project (@vpapupdates) November 2, 2021