Petersburg goes to the polls: Here's what we know so far about Election Day activity

PETERSBURG — Election Day 2022 has arrived, which means voters across Petersburg who did not take advantage of early or absentee voting will be casting ballots between now and 7 p.m. The Progress-Index will provide updates on polling, numbers and other election activity throughout the day, so keep checking back with us.

5:58 p.m.

Two minutes until the last report of registered voter turnout. In the meantime, meet some more who voted:

5:11 p.m.

Absentee ballot? Get it in the box before 7 p.m. if you want it to count.

5:05 p.m.

4:15 p.m.

Roughly 900 more people voted in Petersburg between noon and 3 p.m. Tuesday, according to the city general registrar's office.

By 3 p.m., 2,957 voters had cast ballots. The largest total continues to be in Ward 3, where 603 ballots were cast.

In the other wards that had contested City Council races, 313 people voted in Ward 1, 343 in Ward 5 and 461 in Ward 7.

Business was brisk, too, in the wards where only the House of Representatives race was on the ballot. Ward 2 has seen 534 voters, Ward 4, 405 and Ward 6, 298.

The next update will be at 6 p.m., an hour before the polls close.

3:27 p.m.

3:15 p.m.

2 p.m.

We caught up with candidates and their families, and afternoon voters Tuesday at Ward 7.

1:44 p.m.

David Crook, the assistant registrar in Petersburg, spoke with The Progress-Index about voting in Tuesday's election.

1:19 p.m.

After a slow start, it looks like the voting numbers for the city are rebounding.

As of noon, more than 2,000 voters had been cast across all seven wards, which more than doubles the numbers recorded at 9 a.m. Ward 3 continues to lead the list wth a total of 420 ballots cast since 6 a.m. That represents about 8.5% turnout of the city's registered 23,722 voters.

The nonprofit Election Protection Project positioned volunteers at all seven wards to assist voters with questions about casting their ballots. They were wearing black T-shirts with "Election Protection" in white letters.

One of the volunteers said the queries they were helping out with mostly centered around confusion over where to vote since the city redistricted earlier this year.

1 p.m.

12:32 p.m.

Noon

Over at Ward 3, people are exercising their right to vote.

11:30 a.m.

A spirited conversation took place outside of Blandford Academy between Petersburg's Democratic chair, Janell Sinclair, and the Republican chair, Michael Maszaros, between the similarities and differences between the two parties.

Sinclair and Maszaros said that both parties want Petersburg to have good leadership and to prosper.

"We want leadership that’s going to take Petersburg to the next level," said Sinclair. People who are fiscally responsible, that we can agree on. We want Petersburg to be vibrant, to thrive, a robust economy."

"We just want change in Petersburg," said Maszaros. "We want it to attract people and be a place people are proud of. We want people to be able to raise their children here."

But the main point of difference that they discussed had to do with public education. Sinclair said that if the community gives people more choices, then the public school system will suffer. Growing up, Sinclair attended a lab school, where she feels like it’s for the "haves."

Maszaros rebutted, saying that nowadays, lab schools is a lottery system and there is no application, so people can't discriminate and choose who gets to attend. He supports having more school choices, because he believes that competition will better the public school system.

"We believe competition is the best way to make people accountable and drive change," said Maszaros.

11:19 a.m.

Suppose you live right across the street from a polling place, yet you cannot go over and vote there.

That is what at least six people in Ward 1 have found when they went to vote at Blandford Academy. They were told they needed to go to the Union Train Station because that is where Ward 4, their new precinct, votes.

11:10 a.m.

"Slow and cold."

That is how Ward 5 council hopeful Michelle Murrills described her experience with voters at Tabernacle Community Life Center, where she is vying with incumbent Howard Myers and candidate Lois Long. What is her message for those she encounters?

"Vote for those who care," Murrills said.

11 a.m.

Early voting might be convenient, but it also can be confusing.

Up until Nov. 5, people who wanted to cast ballots prior to Election Day could do so by stopping by the voter registration office on North Market Street. After that, if you wanted to vote in the election, you would have to go to the polling place.

Tuesday morning, general registrar Dawn Wilmoth estimated at least 40 people stopped by the office to vote. Each of them was gently reminded that they would have to go to the spot where they normally voted.

10:46 a.m.

Ward 5 incumbent Howard Myers, a former mayor, said it is so far, so good out at Tabernacle Life Center where Ward 5 votes.

10:41 a.m.

10:38 a.m.

Sixty-nine-year-old Alvin Jefferson, who lives in Ward 1, said he is "old enough to see the fight for the right to vote." That's why he votes in every election where he is eligible.

"Voting is my civic duty and my right," he said.

This time around, he used that right to vote for Marlow Jones as his next councilor.

"I came out for Marlow," he said, "that was my main reason."

10:20 a.m.

The numbers appear to be picking up in wards 1 and 5. By 10 a.m., one Ward 5 poll watcher told The Progress-Index that the total count now stood at 144.

joyce_speak

9:30 a.m.

As of mid-morning Tuesday, less than 1,000 voters had passed through the polls Tuesday, general registrar Dawn Wilmoth said. And in some cases, the precincts where there were no contsted council races were generating more output than those with races.

By 9 a.m., wards 3 and 7 had the largest numbers of turnout, with 201 and 171 respectively. Wards 1 and 5 were neck-and-neck with 117 and 116 respectively.

In Ward 2, where the only race was the House of Representatives seat, 178 people had been through the turnstile. Ward 4, in the same boat as Ward 2, had recorded 129.

Ward 6, whose voters go to Cool Spring Elementary School, had 77 voters pass through by 9 a.m.

Citywide, 989 voters, out of a total voting base of 23,722, had been to the polls. That translates into about 4.2% of the total base. Wilmoth said she had expected the 2022 turnout to be "moderate."

More counts are expected at noon, 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. The polls close at 7 p.m., but any voter in line at the time will be able to cast a ballot.

8:37 a.m.

It's way too early to tell if they were the "of change" type, but the winds were definitely blowing as voters in Wards 3, 5 and 7 made their way to the polling stations. Wards 3 and 7 reported fairly busy totals of at least 60 voters in each precinct, while workers at Ward 5 reported the flow as "steady." Each of those contests features an incumbent facing opposition.

Early morning temperatures read 55 degrees, but the sustained winds of 16 mph — with gusts of up to 23 mph — made it feel chillier

Donned in a sport coat and stocking cap, Mayor Sam Parham handed out literature as voters stepped from the Petersburg High School parking lot onto the sidewalk that led to the polling station. A few paces up that same sidewalk, challenger Michael Storrs was resetting his table banner that kept getting blown by the breeze. Earlier, that same wind had claimed his canopy.

Despite the canopy catastrophe and the wind whistling, "I'm loving being out here," Storrs said with a big smile on his face.

Ward 5 candidates essentially stood in a straight line to greet people at the Tabernacle Life Center on Halifax Street. Looking left to right, incumbent Howard Myers was closest to the door, followed by challengers Lois Long and Michelle Murrills. They alternated between the shady side and the sunny side to keep warm.

"I should've put a hat on this morning," Ward 7 hopeful Elsie Jardon said as the wind was blowing her hair around in front of Pleasants Lane Elementary school's multipurpose room. Nearby, incumbent Arnold Westbrook Jr. had his dreadlocks partially protected by a hat as he worked the school's driveway.

6:20 a.m.

Dawn is breaking as campaign workers get ready for what will feel like the longest day of their lives Tuesday. At least the weather is expected to cooperate, with sunny skies and high temperatures around 60 degrees expected.

Over at Blandford Academy, 11 voters had shown up in the first half-hour of Ward 1 balloting, election workers there said. One of them was Marlow Jones, whose name is on the ballot.

"They couldn't find my name at first," Jones joked as he walked out of the polling site to set up his campaign table outside. "But it's good."

Jones and Chioma A. Griffin are battling for the seat vacated by the retiring Treska Wilson-Smith.

At the other polling place downtown featuring a contested race, early-morning traffic was very light. As people get up and out the door on their way to work, the pace should pick up for the net couple of hours everywhere.

Joyce Chu, an award-winning investigative journalist, is the Social Justice Watchdog Reporter for The Progress Index. Contact her with comments, concerns, or story-tips at Jchu1@gannett.com or on Twitter @joyce_speaks.

Kristi K. Higgins aka The Social Butterfly columnist is the trending topics and food Q&A reporter at The Progress-Index. Have a news tip on local trends or businesses? Contact Kristi (she, her) at khiggins@progress-index.com, follow @KHiggins_PI on Twitter @socialbutterflykristi on Instagram.

Bill Atkinson (he/him/his) is an award-winning journalist and daily news coach for USA TODAY Network's Atlantic Region which includes Virginia. He is based in Petersburg, Virginia. Reach him at batkinson@progress-index.com.

This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Ongoing coverage of Petersburg’s Election Day 2023