How did I miss that there is a Special Election today in VA-1???

Spina said voters were having no trouble using the county's paper ballots, instead of the bubble-sheet style ballots used in the November election. Paper ballots were used because because voting equipment used in the November 2007 General Election is required to be locked up until Dec. 12 in accordance with Virginia Election Law.

. . .

Spina said the process is largely the same for voters, who mark their choice on a piece of paper and then simply deposit it in a box instead of an electronic counter. The change, he said, is mainly for the poll workers.

"We've got to hand-count this stuff -- that's the difference," he said.

Luckily, with only three candidates and low turnout, he didn't expect that process to take too long.

In Williamsburg, turnout for the special election was predicted to be especially low, but that wasn't true in Williamsburg's Stryker Precinct, which votes at the Williamsburg Community Building. Catherine Allsport, chief election officer at the site, said the polling place had seen a steady stream of people all day, and 685 voters had come through by 3 p.m.

With a few hours to go, Allsport said she thought the turnout would be roughly the same as the numbers seen for the regular election last month.

http://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-now-jccwmbgelec.1211,0,4949621.story