By james art 
HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — With less than 24 hours until the polls open, the final pieces of the puzzle made their way to the door of the Henrico County Register’s office Monday as poll captains pick up what they need, to manage their constituencies around a district.
“I Voted stickers, pens to mark the ballots, all kinds of forms and envelopes that they’re going to need to fill out all the paperwork to get full results on election night,” Henrico County Elections Director Mark Coakley said.
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Early voting ended Saturday, and Director Mark Coakley says more than 86,000 Henrico residents voted in person or by mail.
Statewide, the early voting total is 2,290,000, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.
On Election Day, polls will open at 6 a.m. and close at 7 p.m., at which point polls across the state will begin counting ballots.
“We don’t hit the total number of prints on that scanner until 7:00 p.m. on election night,” Coakley said.
Coakley says in the coming days they will also be checking and counting advance ballots and election day postmarked mail-in ballots, which arrive by noon Friday.
But he stresses that all their totals are considered unofficial until they are certified next week.
“We’ve never seen a presidential campaign like we’re seeing right now,” said CBS 6 Political Analyst Dr. Bob Holsworth.
As for how to interpret these results, CBS 6 political analyst Dr. Bob Holsworth says that for the presidential race, he’s looking at swing counties such as Chesterfield, which had Democrat Joe Biden running for president in 2020 and Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin in 2021
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“Can he do as well as Glenn Youngkin, who led Virginia by a narrow lead? And if he doesn’t, I think it’s going to be a very long night now for Trump supporters in Virginia,” Youngkin said.
Across the state, Holsworth is reminding people of what he calls the “red mirage” — where smaller, Republican-leaning counties can report their general results faster, giving Republicans an early lead, while more populous ones lean Democratic. counties and cities do not begin reporting.
Coakley says delays can be affected by the number of votes the machines have to count.
“Some other localities may have faster machines or less activity,” Coakley said. “Your Fairfaxes and your Prince Williams and your Virginia Beaches may take longer. It just depends on the number of voting machines they have and how many ballots are on each machine.”
As for the congressional races that will determine who will control the House and Senate, Holsworth says he is watching the 7th and 2nd House districts.
“The 7th District, which is Abigail Spanberger’s seat, if that really flips the parties, if Derek Anderson can beat Eugene Windman, that would be a very good sign for the Republicans,” Holsworth said. “At the same time, if the Democrats actually manage to unseat Jen Keegans in Virginia Beach with Missy Smasal. It goes to show you that this is a very, very good night for the Democrats.”
Coakley reminds those planning to vote tomorrow that if you do so towards the end of the day, as long as you are in line by 7pm when the polls close, you will be allowed to vote.
CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
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