Visitors from about a dozen countries came to Arlington on Tuesday to witness democracy in action.
As it does nearly every election day, Arlington played host to foreign media outlets and to foreign officials interested in learning more about the American election process.
Television news crews from France, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden, China, Australia and the UK all brought cameras to Arlington polling places throughout the course of the day.
The State Department and several NGOs also hosted visitors in Arlington. Observers from Spain, Bulgaria, Iraq, Pakistan and elsewhere came to learn about “how we run democracy in the U.S.”
Despite a large number of requests this year, county Registrar Linda Lindberg says there were even more requests from foreign visitors during the 2008 presidential election.
She said that Arlington’s proximity to D.C. is what makes it an attractive location. The county is not chosen for any specific reason — it’s simply used as an example of what takes place in the country as a whole.
The television crews are “just looking for background shots, B-roll shots,” Lindberg said.
She noted that the county tries to plan foreign visits to polling places in a way that ensures voters aren’t disturbed.
“They have to keep them in small groups so they don’t disrupt the election.”
If you used Google to tell you where to vote on Thursday, it may have given you bad advice.
Virginia Square resident Charlie Fitzpatick tells Fast Company magazine that a Google service intended to assist voters directed him to a location in Courthouse, almost a mile away from where he was supposed to be voting.
A text message service intended to provide polling place information also provided misinformation on election day, Fast Company reports.
Congressman Jim Moran, county board member Chris Zimmerman and school board member Sally Baird were all re-elected. All four proposed county bond issues, each supported by the Democrats, passed. No bond received less than 62 percent of the vote.
At the Democrat’s victory party in the Westin hotel in Ballston, Moran declared victory early, but tempered his remarks with a warning about challenges that lie ahead for the party.
“It appears pretty clear that we will have won tonight,” he said. “But the victory is bittersweet — this is going to be a tough night for Democrats nationally.”
“We are going to work with the president for the next two years to fight efforts to take this country backwards,” Moran added. He said a “lack of civic involvement” and “extremist Tea Party views” were the downfall of his opponent, Republican Patrick Murray.
Zimmerman said the victory reflected Arlington’s values.
“I recognize that this is not simply a personal victory, but a statement about governance — an affirmation of the progressive values that I and my colleagues have worked to put into policy,” he said. “Arlington is a great community, and together we are making it even better.”
Arlington County Democratic Committee chairman Mike Lieberman credited volunteers for keeping the faith in a down year for Democrats.
“We worked this place,” he told the large and noisy crowd.
Republican Mark Kelly won three Arlington precincts, out of 51, in his race against incumbent county board member Chris Zimmerman.
Kelly won a plurality in Crystal City and Aurora Hills, where he lives. He won a majority in the Madison/Old Glebe neighborhood in North Arlington.
With 98 percent of precincts reporting, Zimmerman has 57 percent of the vote to Kelly’s 36 percent and Green Party candidate Kevin Chisholm’s 6 percent.
“It’s still an uphill climb here in Arlington,” Kelly said earlier tonight. “I thought we ran a great campaign. People saw the Republican party out there… we made a good case as to why we should have at least one seat on the board.”
(Updated at 10:05 p.m.)
The Murray party at Bailey’s in Ballston is surprisingly large for the 8th District. That fact, and the national Republican victories splashed across Fox News, is helping to keep the mood light despite Murray’s sound defeat at the hands of incumbent congressman Jim Moran.
Only about half the crowd has left, and periodic cheers are filling the dimly lit room.
Murray is warmly greeting supporters. He says he was hoping for a closer result in Arlington and Alexandria, but he’s still smiling.
“We ran a great race, the best race that has ever been mounted against Jim Moran,” Murray said. “It’s just a very tough district. I’m very happy with the effort we put out there.”
A close Murray aide summed it up with a football analogy.
“We left it all on the field,” he said.
What’s next for Murray?
“Sleep,” he says. “I just want to take some time to rehash this and thank a lot of people.”
(Updated at 9:30 p.m.)
Chris Zimmerman is speaking after a brief victory speech by re-elected school board member Sally Baird.
Zimmerman is thanking those who worked on his campaign and all fellow Arlington Democrats.
“For this great opportunity you have given me, you have my deepest gratitude,” he said. “Arlington is a great community, and together we are making it even better”
(Updated at 9:10 p.m.)
With 89 percent of Arlington precincts reporting, current numbers from the Virginia State Board of Elections show Democrats Chris Zimmerman and Sally Baird winning the county and school board races. All four bond issues will likely pass.
“We worked this place,” Arlington County Democratic Committe Chair Mike Lieberman tells the large crowd at the Westin in Ballston.
(Updated at 9:00 p.m.)
Rep. Jim Moran is on stage at the Arlington Democratic party in Ballston.
“It appears pretty clear that we will have won tonight,” he said. “But the victory is bittersweet — this is going to be a tough night for Democrats nationally.”
“We’re going to work with the president to fight efforts to take this country backwards,” Moran added.
He said Murray’s “lack of civic involvement” and “extremist Tea Party views” were his downfall.
Moran’s daughter and campaign manager, Mary, was not as reserved about the results.
“Dad’s too classy to say this, but it looks like we trounced this guy,” she said of the congress’s apparent victory over Republican Patrick Murray.
With 74 percent of precincts reporting, Moran leads 61 percent to 37 percent over Murray.
Mark Kelly and his daughters at Hard Times Cafe, during his 2010 campaign for County Board (staff photo)
Election officials called police when a Republican precinct captain became unruly outside Patrick Henry Elementary School in Arlington Heights this afternoon.
The man, a local resident named John Moroz, Jr., said he was passing out voting guides outside the school — as he has done every year since 1998 — when a voter directed profane language at him for being a Republican.
Moroz said he started shouting at the man, who left the scene by the time police arrived.
After he calmed down, Moroz complained to police about the lack of parking in the parking lot. No police action was taken, and Moroz ultimately returned to his volunteer duties.
As the 7:00 p.m. deadline for voting nears, we’re hearing of a few problems at the polls in Arlington County — but both Republicans and Democrats say they’re happy with the day’s events.
“The numbers we’re getting back show a higher than 2009 turnout, which gives us room for optimism,” said Mike Lieberman, chairman of the Arlington County Democratic Committee. He emphasized that county Democrats are “cautiously” optimistic.
“Given how strange this year is we’re not taking anything for granted until we see the actual numbers come in,” he said.
Arlington County Republican Committee vice-chair Charles Hokanson said the day was largely “uneventful” in terms of problems.
“From what i can gather, it sounds like turnout is about what would be expected in an off-year election,” he said. He added that the organization has significantly improved its operations at the polls on election day.
“We’re having our best precinct operations in the past decade or more, ” Hokanson said, noting that they had volunteers at 50 out of 51 county precincts.
Arlington County Registrar Linda Lindberg acknowledged reports from both parties of voting machines freezing up in some precincts.
Of the several precincts that had issues with voting machines, Oak Ridge/Gunston appeared to have the worst problems. Democrats reported that voters there had to use paper ballots during part of the morning.
“We’re dealt with all those issues,” Lindberg said.
“My sense is [turnout] was probably a little bit better than we anticipated,” Lindberg added. “We’ve had steady voting all day in most precincts.”
In-person absentee voting started today, in advance of the November 2 election.
Election officials say two people have already cast ballots in the first hour of absentee voting. The voting is taking place on the third floor of 2100 Clarendon Blvd.
“Citizens who will be absent from Arlington on Election Day” are eligible to vote absentee — meaning that if you work in the District or anywhere outside Arlington, you’re probably eligible. See the county’s absentee voting page for more information.
Visitors from about a dozen countries came to Arlington on Tuesday to witness democracy in action.
