Virginia election live updates: Augusta, city voters head to the polls for Election Day 2020

Election Day is upon us and The News Leader will be out and about all day documenting what is happening at the polls.

See something? Let us know by emailing localnews@newsleader.com. Using social media to post about the election? Use the hashtag #SAWvotes2020 so we can follow what's going on.

Check back on this story for updates throughout the day.

The News Leader will continue to report on incoming election results into the evening.

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 9 p.m. — News Brief — The Virginia Department of Elections gives its last brief of the day

Christopher Piper, the Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Elections, gave his last brief of the day and he restated what he discussed during his second briefing.

Piper said that the Virginia Department of Elections gave a cut off time of 11:00 p.m. for localities to stop processing ballots and report the numbers they have.

Localities will continue to count on Wednesday.

"Virginia is going to count each vote."

Piper stressed that there will be absentee ballots coming in throughout the week until Nov. 6 as long as they have a postmark from on or before the Election Day.

Piper is proud of the Commonwealth of Virginia for how the Election Day has went in midst of pandemic.

"We were reading headlines about whether we could hold elections in the midst of this pandemic. And I'm very proud of Virginia and the rest of the country for all that that we did to get to today. It was a team effort and all the work that we did, it paid off."

Piper believes that the Virginia Department of Elections will have better sense of how many people have cast their vote today in-person on Wednesday morning.

7 p.m. — Polls close in Virginia

Polls are officially closed statewide.

Check our election results coverage here.

6:15 p.m. — Staunton Wards 2 & 3 — Gypsy Hill Park Gym

Things remained steady at Gypsy Hill Park gym throughout the day, according to both Chief Officer of Elections Jason Hochsetter and Nick Walge.

Ward 3 at 6:15 p.m. had seen 739 voters out of 3,251 registered voters. Ward 2 at 6:15 p.m. had seen 99 voters out of 4,261 registered voters.

"It's been going smoothly," Hochsetter said.

According to Walge, Ward 2 was at 71% turnout, which includes early voting and absentee. That number was 10% higher than the turnout in 2016 for Ward 2, he said.

"I don't think the early voting interfered with voting today, there was no big jump in provisional ballots, it felt like everything went smoothly," Walge said.

Polls were set to close in less than an hour and people were still pouring into the wards.

"I've always voted," said Rhea Richardson. "People from my past weren't able to. I didn't have a specific person I was voting for, I just vote because people in my past couldn't."

Just before 6:30 p.m. a small lined formed inside the ward, but it went fast.

"It's my civic duty," Christopher Bower said. "I wish more people would vote, then we'd find out where we really stand."

Ashley Leach said he votes for his grandfather, who fought in the war.

"I think of him when I vote," he said.

Leach said he had no problem voting in-person, he found it difficult to get to early voting while working.

Robert Stewart said he wanted his vote counted, that's why he came in-person.

"It's a right," he said. "I'm just looking for the next change."

- Reporter Laura Peters

6 p.m. — Staunton's Ward 1 — Third Presbyterian Church

Shortly after 6 p.m. as the polls neared closing time, voters were still trickling into Ward 1 in Staunton, located at the Third Presbyterian Church at 1313 Barterbrook Road. Ward Chief Susan Sheets said 917 people had voted in person so far in the ward.

“We’re doing very well today,” Sheets said.

She said 44 percent of the ward’s 3,851 registered voters took part in the city’s early voting process. Turnout, including early voters, was slightly above about 67 percent with less than an hour to go until polls closed.

“This is an exceptional turnout for this ward,” Sheets noted.

When asked what prompted her to vote Tuesday as she left Ward 1, Stephanie Iles, 25, of Staunton, said, “Honestly, I think it’s part of our civic duty as citizens. No matter who we’re voting for, I think it’s important that we come out.

“Unfortunately, so many people don’t have this right and I think we take it for granted.”

5 p.m. — Waynesboro's Ward D — Westminster Presbyterian Church

This is the first time Shamar Tanner, 20, has ever voted. He was motivated not by Donald Trump or Joe Biden, but by his aunt.

“Honestly, I didn’t really care too much about it,” Tanner said, “but my aunt got it in my head that every voter’s vote makes a difference. So I was like, ‘Alright, I’ll come out.’”

He was expecting it to be a difficult process, but once he got into Westminster Presbyterian Church, Waynesboro’s Ward D voting precinct, he said voting was pretty simple.

“I’m glad I paid attention in like history and everything,” he said. “I knew what I was reading.”

Tanner said he would definitely vote in the next election.

It was also the first time voting for Kevin Fitch, who is 39 years old. He’s lived in Waynesboro for 5 years after moving from Charlottesville. Fitch said he’s never been motivated to come out to the polls until this year.

“We need a change in the world,” he said. “Our world is just screwed up. It’s a horrible place right now.”

Like Tanner, Fitch said nothing about the voting process was confusing. He was in and out in just a few minutes. Also like Tanner, Fitch said he’d return to vote during the next election.

Ward D’s chief election officer, Andrew Shifflett, said there were 984 votes cast on Tuesday as of 4:45 p.m. That was out of the about 1,900 peo that could have voted on Tuesday.

Early voting has made a big difference this year, he said. Before Tuesday, his ward had 55% of its eligible voters participate in early or absentee voting. He guessed that, by the end of voting on Tuesday, his ward would see about 80% of the eligible voters cast a ballot. Normally, in a presidential election, Shifflett would expect to see about 70%.

“I have a feeling we’ll probably always have early voting,” he said. “I don’t know for sure, but probably, even if the COVID goes away. It’s kind of hard to go back to the way it used to be, but that’s just a guess.”

- Reporter Patrick Hite

4 p.m. — News Brief — The Virginia Department of Election reports 'We've had smooth voting throughout the Commonwealth"

Christopher Piper, the Commissioner for the Virginia Department of Elections, gave his second briefing of the day.

Piper mentioned how smoothly the voting process has been in Virginia and how there have been no reports of long lines.

"We do anticipate more voters from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m."

Piper encourages people to vote if they still haven't voted, "If you're in line at 7 p.m., you will be able to cast your ballot."

Piper gave more information on how election night reporting will progress into the evening. The election night results will populate with precincts coming in from each locality after the polls close at 7:00 p.m.

All mail-in voting and early in-person voting will be reported in each localities central absentee precinct, known as CAP.

"While absentee ballots can be marked, received and scanned prior to the Election Day, no vote totals can be determined until after the polls have closed," Piper said.

The Virginia Department of Elections gave localities a cut off time of 11:00 p.m. to stop processing ballots and report the numbers they have. The counting will resume on Wednesday. Piper believes that there may be some localities that will report earlier than 11:00 p.m.

The counting will continue throughout this week since localities will be processing absentee ballots that have arrived through mail. Absentee ballots will be accepted until Nov. 6, as long as they have a postmark on or before the Election Day.

"CAP totals will be updated after localities complete their process and tabulations, following the new deadline on Friday, Nov. 6." Piper said.

The Virginia Department of Elections hasn't received any reports about voters trying to vote in-person and then told that they have cast their vote.

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Piper said that those who are confident they haven't voted, but are told that they have can request a provisional ballot.

3:30 p.m. — 73 percent of voters in Staunton's Ward 4 have already voted

At Ward 4 at the Seventh Day Adventist Church, located at 1000 North Coalter St. in Staunton, as of about 3:30 p.m. 73 percent of registered voters in the ward have already cast a ballot, according to Ward 4 Chief Shannon Grogg.

Grogg said 55 percent of the ward did early voting. Still, she said foot traffic has been steady the entire day with 507 people voting in person so far.

“We haven’t had a lot of idle time,” she said.

The ward has a total of 2,840 registered voters. One of those voters is Kendra Lewis, 40, of Staunton.

“I think this is a very, very important election,” said Lewis when asked what motivated her to vote Tuesday. “I think that this world is in need of a lot of change.”

3 p.m. — Brothers show Trump support along Hopeman Parkway (Video)

Bill Roethlisberger wanted a way to show his support for President Donald Trump. So, the Waynesboro man, along with his brother Eric Roethlisberger from Blacksburg, gathered up some homemade signs and their Trump flags and headed to the corner of Hopeman Parkway and Ivy Street in Waynesboro.

For several hours Tuesday afternoon the two men waved their flags, yelled encouragement for Trump and gave a lot of thumbs up to those who yelled back their support.

"We're just trying to push our guy forward," Bill Roethlisberger said. "We believe this nation has been on a path that is not the way our founding fathers intended it to be. There's just a whole lot of socialism and communism coming in, at least overtones."

Bill Roethlisberger said he believes Trump has had a successful four years and it would have been more successful if it wasn't for COVID-19.

The two men were headed for another section of Waynesboro near I-64 after they left Hopeman. They were pleased with the response they've gotten.

"So far it's been mostly positive," Bill Roethlisberger said. "We've had six shouting expletives, but the vast majority waves, thumbs up, horns."

- Reporter Patrick Hite

3 p.m. — Man wanted to vote in-person, but couldn't

A Staunton man tried to vote in-person Tuesday but was told he had already voted absentee. The catch, he hadn't.

Scott Hensley was told he voted absentee, which he said is impossible — he was at work during the time the system says he apparently voted.

Read more here.

- Reporter Laura Peters

2:40 p.m. — 'I did my duty!' Quiet and peaceful voting by elementary school

The young woman jumped into the passenger seat, the car hitting reverse before the door was closed.

"I did my duty!" she said gleefully as the car sped away.

That's about as much excitement as there was to see at Staunton's Ward 5 at the Memorial Baptist Church, overlooking McSwan Elementary's playground.

"We had 1,800 votes before the day started. Another 400 have voted so far today," said Ward 5 chief Alan Garrison about the turnout so far.

"His actual name's Mr. Kathleen Garrison," said his wife Kathy, arriving in the mostly-empty room with a large coffee.

Garrison said it has been a quiet morning because 55% of the ward's 3,400 voters had already voted.

"It's been easy," he said.

Outside, there was plenty of election literature for the taking but not a lot of takers.

One voter, Bridget Carroll, said this election was important to her because of the high level of hate and rhetoric.

"I just don't think I could stand another four years of it," she said.

- Jeff Schwaner

2 p.m. — Staunton’s Ward 5 — Memorial Baptist Church

12:51 p.m. — Stuarts Draft — Ridgeview Christian Church

The News Leader witnessed a report from a voter through Instagram sharing his experience at Ridgeview Christian Church precinct in Augusta County.

The voter said that the precinct was unable to scan voter's ballots because their scanning machine was down and they were asked to place their ballots in a slot behind the scanner.

The scanner has since been fixed and the ballots will be scanned at 7 p.m. when the polls

MORE: Minor issue with ballots at Ridgeview, but will be dealt with: Officials

- Reporter Patrick Hite

11 a.m. — News Brief — 2.75 million Virginians people have cast their ballots

Christopher Piper, the Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Elections gave his first news briefing of the day.

According to Piper, 5.9 million Virginians have registered to vote as of Monday night.

2,754,134 people have casted their ballot and within those nearly 1.8 million casted their ballot in-person. There were 956,000 absentee ballots cast.

"There are about 200,000 ballots not yet received and surrendered. Total of 46% of registered voters have already cast ballots."

Piper said that Virginians do not have an excuse not to cast their ballots.

"This was obviously the first year that Virginians didn't need an excuse to cast an absentee ballot, so we anticipated higher numbers but the enthusiasm Virginia showed for casting early ballot is unprecedented."

Piper is confident that voting will continue to be successful in Virginia going into the rest of the day. He stressed the importance of voting to the people who haven't already voted.

"If you haven't voted, please get out there before 7:00 p.m. and cast in your ballot."

The News Leader will have more updates from the Virginia Department of Election as they plan to hold two more news briefing at 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.

- Reporter Ayano Nagaishi

10 a.m. — Waynesboro Ward C — Wayne Hills

Mary Sullivan, the chief of Ward C, said voting has been calm today at her location.

“It’s going fantastic.”

They have one voting machine and an absentee ballot drop-off. People who want to bring their absentee ballot can come put it in the drop-off, or they can give it to an election official.

“They can turn it in to us, we will void it and issue them a ballot and they can vote on the machine. It’s their choice.”

415 people had voted by about 10 a.m

- Reporter William Ramsey

10 a.m. — Waynesboro Ward B — Waynesboro Public Library

Jordie Roberts stood in the hallway just inside the doors to the Waynesboro Public Library Tuesday morning. The Waynesboro High School senior, who is a year too young to actually vote, was telling those who entered about the sample ballots on the wall.

"If you don't know who you're voting for by now, why are you here," one person going in to vote told her.

Undeterred, Roberts informed the next voter of the same sample ballots.

Beside her was Mackenzie Sontz-Morrison, also a senior. Along with helping people know where the sample ballots were, Sontz-Morrison and Roberts were informing people of where they needed to go to actually vote, through an open door just a few feet from the two girls.

Both were volunteering as part of their AP Government Class. They will get credit for helping out.

"Someone came to our Zoom class and explained everything to us, the voting process," Roberts said. "So we were able to come to come help during the election."

While Roberts was about to leave for the day, after working for three hours, Sontz-Morrison said she would be there until 7 p.m. after arriving at 8 a.m.

"We pretty much do whatever the chief of the voting place asks us to," Sontz-Morrison said.

Margy Stanford was designated as the PPE specialist at Ward B, in charge of making sure everything in the voting area is cleaned. It's a brand new job this year for election officials, as people vote in person during a pandemic.

"We just make sure that the tables get washed down periodically," she said. "Every person gets a break for 20 minutes about every two hours, and they change their masks and their gloves."

Meanwhile, Andrew Russell came out of the Waynesboro Public Library carrying a cardboard cutout of Melania Trump, the First Lady of the United States. He said he takes the cutout with him as he drives around town. He bought it at a store in the Staunton Mall.

"I won't settle until Melania gets her cover on Vogue because she didn't get that," he said. "She didn't get that this last four years. I feel like that wasn't fair."

Russell said he feels Melania Trump has been disrespected over the last four years and she didn't deserve to be treated that way.

- Reporter Patrick Hite

9:30 a.m. — Staunton Ward 1 — Third Presbyterian Church

Bryan Douglas takes off his mask as he leaves the precinct. He decided to come in-person to vote at Staunton Ward 1, which is located at Third Presbyterian Church off Barterbrook Road.

"I wanted my vote to count," he said.

The main reason he came out was because of the importance and impact of the presidential election.

"It's a big one," he said.

Scarlett Danraj said it was extremely easy to vote in-person. She said the ward was staffed right and there was no line — it was a smooth process.

"I was excited to come in-person to vote," she said. "Especially with my daughter."

Joa Garcia said since she works more than 60 hours a week, it was hard for her to go early to vote, which is why she went to the polls Tuesday morning.

"I thought it was going to be really busy, but I didn't wait at all," she said. "I know that it's an important election and everyone's voice should be heard."

Chief Officer of Election Susan Sheets said turnout was "brisk." By 9:30 a.m., there had been 342 voters out of 3,851 registered voters that came in-person to vote. Sheets said that 44% of the ward had already voted early — by mail or absentee. As for turnout in-person, by the morning the ward was at 9%.

"This is one of the larger wards," Sheets said. "We are having an exceptionally large turnout."

Sheets said before 6 a.m. there were voters already lined up outside, much like other wards in Staunton. After 9 a.m., there had been a small lull, but people were still filtering in and out with a steady cadence.

"This is one of the quieter moments," she said. "Everyone has been mannerly and polite."

Andrea Courtney cast her vote in-person at Ward 1 in Staunton because of a lot of racial issues that have been brought up as of late.

"I decided to come out and vote," she said. "I work with a lot of residents that have been through racial issues. I decided to come in-person because it's more valid that way.

"I'm hoping everything goes back to the way it was and everyone can be equal," she added.

Cars and people had been filtering in and out of the parking lot. People seemed to be in good spirits and it was calm.

"I'm a firm believer in decision and who should be president," said Whitney Floriano. "It's important for the future."

- Reporter Laura Peters

7:30 a.m. — Augusta County Precinct 103 —Augusta County Government Center (Verona)

Sonia Velasquez Shifflett was in the parking lot of the Government Center in Verona Tuesday morning handing out sample ballots. At first she identified herself as being with "The American people," but then said she was with the Republican Party.

She was reminding voters about the two constitutional amendments on the ballot this year:

• Redistricting Commission Amendment — Creates a redistricting commission to draw congressional and state legislative districts

• Motor Vehicle Property Tax Exemption for Disabled Veterans Amendment — Exempts one motor vehicle owned by a totally disabled veteran from property taxes

"I think the key thing is fairness, transparency and citizen input," Shifflett said. "With everything in the media we get a little bit sidetracked with everything that's important. We have to realize the importance of the American people and our voice does matter."

Ronald Johnson of Verona said the country is on the right path and he doesn't want to see it go back to where it was four years ago. For the past four years the company for which he works, which he didn't name, has given him two bonuses a year. He never got those before Donald Trump became president.

"I believe one guy is a real ... I don't know if you want me to say it or not, well, one guy's just a dumbass," said Johnson. "He's probably wearing blue today."

Johnson wasn't the only Trump supporter out early on Tuesday morning.

Faith Hise-Sadler was heading heading home from work at an assisted living facility Tuesday morning. She has two daughters who usually come to vote with her, but both were asleep so she came alone. She always votes on election day and decided to maintain the tradition instead of voting early this year.

"I'm definitely a Republican, definitely going to vote for Trump," she said. "He's real. He puts it out there and he doesn't sugarcoat things."

Rick Allen said he has voted in every presidential election since 1976. He said he voted on Tuesday instead of early simply because of "poor planning."

"Biden has a lot of good ideas, but I don't think we can afford him," Allen said. "We're almost bankrupt as it is and I think he'll spend us into bankruptcy. That's kind of important."

John Miller, the chief of the Verona precinct, said voting had been steady so far this morning. He didn't see much difference in numbers at this time of the morning than in past presidential elections.

- Reporter Patrick Hite

7:30 a.m. — Staunton Wards 2 & 3 — Gypsy Hill Park Gym

"It's a little intense this year," said Oshie Mellon, a first-time voter.

The 21-year-old came to the Gypsy Hill Park gym to vote for the first time with her father, Donald Mellon, and 23-year-old brother, Donovan Mellon.

"Honestly, it's one of the most contested elections we've had in a while," Donovan Mellon said. "I wanted to do my civic duty."

Donald Mellon opted to vote in-person so he could physically see his vote counting.

"It's so important," he said. "I wanted to make sure it actually gets counted."

The gym, which served as two voting wards in Staunton, saw good, steady traffic as polls opened. There was a line already forming before the doors opened at 6 a.m., according to Chief Officer of Election Jason Hochsetter. Hochsetter was in charge of Ward 3, which is normally at the gym.

"It has been steady," he said.

Ward 3 at 7:30 a.m. had seen 125 voters out of 3,251 registered voters.

Chief Officer of Election Nick Walge is in charge of Ward 2, which is normally at Christ United Methodist Church on Churchville Avenue said he could see that although there was a steady stream of voters coming in this morning, early voting has worked to help thin the crowds.

"The lines have been affected by early voting," he said.

Ward 2 at 7:30 a.m. had seen 173 voters out of 4,261 registered voters.

Walge said people have been polite and the majority of people have been masked.

- Reporter Laura Peters

6 a.m.— Staunton, Augusta County, Waynesboro

The polls have officially opened. It was a chilly morning at 39 degrees in Staunton as polls opened at 6 a.m. The sun slowly creeped up past the mountains.

Need information on what to expect on Election Day? Click here. 

We will be covering the results after polls close at 7 p.m. Follow this link here for more information.

— Reporter Laura Peters

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More: Staunton, Augusta and Waynesboro see high number in early voting, absentee ballots this election

Have a news tip? You can reach reporter Laura Peters at lpeters@newsleader.com.  Follow her @peterslaura.

This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Live Virginia election results: Voters turn out in Augusta Co., Staunton, Waynesboro