Today last day to register

By Jane DeGeorge
Eagle Reporter
Published: October 3, 2008

Madison County resident Terry Cover has only voted in one presidential election in the past, he said.

“It was back when [Alabama] Gov. [George] Wallace was running,” the middle-aged, casually dressed man who lives near Wolftown told The Eagle.
But come Nov. 4, he’s sure he will be at the polls.

“I think it’s a really important election because the country’s in such bad shape economically,” Cover said as he provided Registrar Diana Eanes with his updated address last week. The deadline to register to vote or to update voter information in order to vote in the Tuesday, Nov. 4 election is 5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 6. 

More than 400 Madison County residents have registered to vote so far this year. Since Jan. 1, the county’s registered voters have increased by about four percent – bringing the total to 8,517, according to Eanes.

“And it’s still changing everyday. We’ll be receiving them up until Oct. 6,” she said, adding that the number of new registered voters may also include some residents who mistakenly registered twice.

Eanes’ office has been busier than usual during the past few months, she said.

“We’ve had people who’ve never voted before and others that are making sure their information is up to date. There’s a lot of interest without a doubt,” she said.

Recently, a variety of organizations have been setting up voter registration drives throughout the county, although Eanes notes that none of these groups are affiliated with the local registrar’s office.

“I want people to know I’m not connected with any voter registration drives and that they’re not registered until they receive a [voter card] from me,” she said. After the registrar’s office receives a voter registration application – which is the form voter drives provide – the office mails the resident a voter card that lists his or her voting precinct. 

Statewide, most localities have seen between a four-to-10 percent increase in newly registered voters since the first of the year, according to the local registrar. About 42 percent of these approximately 284,000 new Virginia voters are 18-24 years old, according to state board of elections statistics provided by Eanes.

The local Madison office starting accepting requests for absentee ballots last week and had already received about 100 requests within the first few days, she said.

“We’ve definitely seen an increase in absentee voting, I think if we had 200 absentee ballots in the past that was a lot, we’ve already had almost a 100 and we’ll keep getting them until the deadline,” Eanes said Sept. 25, four days after the office started accepting the requests.

Applications requesting an absentee ballot by mail must be received by the Madison County Registrar’s Office by Tuesday, Oct. 28. Citizens may request and submit an absentee ballot in person at the county registrar’s office by Saturday, Nov. 1.

The office is usually open 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday, but will open extended hours from 8:30 a.m.- 5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 6 (the last day to register to vote) and from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 25 and Saturday, Nov. 1 at 302 Thrift Road in downtown Madison (in the old school board building).

Citizens should bring identification and must already be registered to vote in order to request an absentee ballot.

Polls will be open from 6 a.m.-7 p.m. on Election Day. The nine Madison County precincts and polling places are:

• Brightwood Precinct – Brightwood Ruritan Club at 4689 Lillard’s Ford Road.

• Criglersville Precinct – Todd’s Garage at 5149 N. Blue Ridge Turnpike (Route 231) in Banco.

• Etlan Precinct – Etlan Rescue Squad Building at 5395 S. F.T. Valley Road (Route 231). 

• Graves Mill Precinct – Graves Chapel at 104 Bluff Mountain Road.

• Madison Precinct – County Administration Building at 414 N. Main St.

• Oak Park Precinct – Mount Zion United Methodist Church at 2394 Mount Zion Church Road.

• Radiant Precinct – Burnt Tree Grange hall at 4709 Orange Road.

• Rochelle Precinct – Mount Nebo Lutheran Church at 3980 Jack’s Shop Road.

• Wolftown Precinct – Rapidan Baptist Church at 150 Rapidan Church Lane.

For information, call Madison County Registrar Diana Eanes at (540) 948-6533 or visit the Virginia State Board of Elections Web site at http://www.sbe.virginia.gov/cms.