With three hours left to vote, turnout across the commonwealth is remarkably low for a presidential primary.
Counties across Northern Virginia are showing just a small fraction of voters is making it out to the polls. In some precincts, less than 10 people had shown up by midday Tuesday and turnout percentage is in the low single digits in Fairfax and Arlington counties, according to local registrars.
Only two candidates are on the ballot, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, a circumstance that has invited many people to stay home. Former Sen. Rick Santorum and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, both Virginia residents, didn’t qualify for the state’s ballot after failing to submit 10,000 valid signatures.
Unknown yet is what impact the low turnout will have on the results. Are the Romney supporters coming out to ensure he takes all 46 of the state’s 49 delegates up for grabs today, giving him a big head start on the rest of the Super Tuesday field? Or are voters casting protest ballots for Paul in an act of defiance against Romney, who many conservatives remain convinced is too moderate to carry the Republican Party’s flag?
The polls close at 7 p.m. and the results should trickle in quickly after. Here’s how the party will distribute the state’s 49 delegate votes:
- The highest vote getter in each congressional district receives three delegates. There are 11 congressional districts.
- Another 13 delegates are assigned proportionally based on the statewide results. However, in the case where a candidate receives more than 50.001 percent of the popular vote, he wins all 13 delegates. This will most certainly happen tonight with just two candidates on Virginia’s primary ballot.
- State Party Chairman Pat Mullins and Virginia’s two representatives to the Republican National Committee can pick whoever they like and are not required to chose between Romney and Paul.
