CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. -- Chesterfield County election officials anticipate the county will set a new voter turnout record when this year’s presidential election is over.
“We're expecting maybe about 80%, or in the 80s, may actually turn out to vote,” Chesterfield General Registrar and Director of Elections Constance Hargrove said at a news conference Monday where she briefed members of the media ahead of Tuesday’s election.
She said she believed the previous high was 78% in the 2008 or 2012 election.
Hargrove said that early voting, which ended Saturday, saw nearly 58% of registered voters cast a ballot.
“In-person voting alone is over 100,000,” added Hargrove. “So, it's 39% of the voters have already cast their ballot, put it into a scanner, and it's just waiting to be tallied at the end of the night on election night. That's a huge deal.”
Hargrove said for the mail-in ballots, about 7,000 still have not been returned.
She said those still with a mail-in ballot have a few options to get them in.
“Dropping off a ballot in person and at a dropbox is an absolute certainty that it will get back to our office,” said Hargrove. “If they choose to put it in the mail, they can go directly to the post office. The post office has agreed to make sure that we get ballots on Election Day as quickly as possible. They will actually deliver ballots to us throughout Election Day.”
Hargrove said voters planning to drop off their ballot should be aware that the drop off boxes on Election Day will be blue, rather than the red color they have been during early voting.
“It is a valid box. It will have the same signage, it will be sealed, it's just blue. Same box,” said Hargrove.
Hargrove added that the deadline to attempt to fix or cure mail-in ballots with mistakes passed on Saturday.
“Anybody who has been contacted in the interim about a ballot that needs to be cured, they can still come in and cure their ballot through Election Day. That's ongoing,” said Hargrove. “But, if we find a problem now, it is a rejected ballot. It cannot be cured at this point.”
Hargrove said voters who planned to cast a ballot on Election Day need to remember that several precinct and polling locations have changed since the 2016 election.
She specifically called attention to the following places:
Precincts Splits
• 111 Iron Bridge — Carver College and Career Academy. 12400 Branders Bridge Road.
• 213 Southside — Transformation Church. 6000 Iron Bridge Road.
• 304 Winfree’s Store — Lake Chesdin Golfers Club. 21801Lake Chesdin Pkwy.
• 309 Skinquarter — Mount Hermon Baptist Church. 18100 Genito Road.
• 402 Genito — Providence Elementary Schoo. 11001 W. Providence Road.
New Precincts Created
• 113 Iron Bridge North — Cultural Center of India. 6641 Ironbridge Parkway.
• 216 Ridgedale — SwimRVA. 5050 Ridgedale Parkway.
• 314 Longhouse — Matoaca High School. 17700 Longhouse Lane.
• 319 Chesterfield Baptist Church. 16520 Hull Street Road.
• 412 Clover Hill — Clover Hill High School. 13301 Kelly Green Lane.
Polling Place Moves
• 210 Five Forks — Open Door Baptist Church. 7151 Belmont Road.
• 301 Ettrick — VSU Multipurpose Center. 20809 Second Branch Ave.
• 304 Winfree’s Store — Lake Chesdin Golfers Club. 21801Lake Chesdin Pkwy.
• 408 Reams — North Courthouse Road Library. 325 Courthouse Road.
• 502 Crestwood — Islamic Center of Virginia. 1241 Buford Road.
• 505 Bon Air — St. Michael’s Episcopal Church. 2040 McRae Road.
Special Notes
• 106 Harrowgate — Harrowgate Elementary School. 15501 Harrowgate Road.
• Polling place is located at the old Harrowgate Elementary School.
• 516 Pocoshock — Manchester Middle School. 7401 Hull Street Road.
• Use the second parking lot entrance.
• Public parking lots still under construction.
