Early voting started earlier this month, and so far, the numbers are showing a strong turnout in places that have primary elections for sheriff and commonwealth's attorney. That's according to numbers from the Virginia Department of Elections posted to the Virginia Public Access Project. Republican operative Jeff Ryer points to the hotly contested Republican primary for sheriff in Chesapeake.
"Sheriff’s contests, whether they are in primaries or general, tend to bring out quite a few participants who are very interested in the outcome of it," Ryer says. "That may have something to do with the fact that when it comes to local patronage, sheriffs really are the king."
One of the House Districts that’s seen heavy early turnout was formerly held by Jay Jones, who is now running for attorney general against Henrico prosecutor Shannon Taylor.
"If you have a contentious commonwealth's attorney race, you probably know what side of that race you sit on as a voter. And you're probably a Jay Jones voter in that city," says Democratic operative Ben Tribbett. "So, you're not going to slowly return your ballot because you know who you’re voting for. I could see the Fairfax and Arlington return rates being a little bit slower this year even though there were more requests because they are waiting to learn who these candidates are."
Democrats have six candidates running for lieutenant governor. So, he says, voters are still trying to figure out which candidate they want to support for before voting early.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
