Eighth district polls in the Mount Vernon area were busy Tuesday morning as voters cast their vote for the Virginia House District 8 nominee for the Democratic party. On the ballot were incumbent Congressman James P. Moran and challenger Andy Rosenberg.
Robert Surovell, who cast his vote at the Hollin Hall Senior Center as part of precinct 606, said, "I hope the incumbent prevails. He's served the interest of his constituency well, and is not as others portray him. Rosenberg didn't run for anything, as much as he ran against Moran."
Evelyn Boynton said, "I wish we had more candidates to vote for."
Manning the polls at Hollin Hall were Tony Porcaro, Al Duncker and Election Chief Dorothy Brandt. Once again, they had a poll going to determine who could guess the total number of voters they would have. Porcaro was high with 177, Dorothy was low with 115, and Al and other officers were in the middle. Seeing as Porcaro guessed last primary's count within four, Duncker predicted that Tony would win it.
Election officers at Walt Whitman Middle School were predicting even higher numbers. Election Chief Pauline Wade said, "They told us they'd be low, but [at 9:30 a.m.] we're already at 92. I expect that we might make it as high as 200. If we keep this pace, we will hit 250."
Suzanne Cleary, who was casting her vote at Walt Whitman, said, "I think it's wonderful that we have the opportunity to vote. It's what makes our country a great place."
This primary gave the precincts a chance to try out the new voting machines. Wade said that so far everything had gone well, but she was concerned about this fall's election when there will be multiple pages.
"I'm concerned that it [the voting] will be slow," she said.
At the end of the day, Moran defeated Rosenberg handily.