I’m just going to paste some relevant tweets in here as I see them. I voted around 9:30 am this morning, for the record.
Saw variations of this tweet a lot throughout the day, on all of my timelines:
🚨We are getting reports of calls to Virginia voters falsely saying that their polling place has changed. 🚨
If you receive a call:
✔️Confirm your polling place at https://t.co/3NmwdTvoHb✔️ Report it to @ACLUVA at 804-644-8080#ElectionDay #vagov
— ACLU (@ACLU) November 7, 2017
(My response: Hi, welcome to every election ever.)
40% of registered voters have turned out in Henrico County so far. Still 2 hours remain. In last gubernatorial election, 51% voted @CBS6
— Melissa J. Hipolit (@MelissaCBS6) November 7, 2017
Early reports? Gillespie exceeding 2013 R turnout in rural VA; Dems panicked over NOVA turnout… AB balloting not enough to rescue Northam.
— Shaun Kenney (@svkenney) November 7, 2017
This is the exact opposite of what I concluded from that first tweet:
The 40% doesn't include absentee. The 51% does. That leads me to believe the 40% is a strong turnout so far. @CBS6 https://t.co/d490IpeMI0
— Melissa J. Hipolit (@MelissaCBS6) November 7, 2017
Virginia exit poll (first wave) — Monuments to Confederate leaders on govt property should be…
Removed 36%
Left in place: 60%— Steve Kornacki (@SteveKornacki) November 7, 2017
This is not relevant to the election but it is culturally relevant and puts the day in context:
Twitter is doubling its character limit to 280 characters, up from 140. The new limit will roll out to Twitter users in almost all 40 languages Twitter supports — but not Japanese, Korean or Chinese-language tweets. https://t.co/ZjHqaglvSY pic.twitter.com/QUa6CiZlLu
— CNN (@CNN) November 7, 2017
Is technology even on the list?
PRELIM VA exit poll data: The top issue to VA voters is healthcare, with just under 4 in 10 naming it as the most important issue in deciding their vote. About 1 in 7 apiece name gun policy, immigration and taxes as most important. About 1 in 10 say abortion.
— Post Polls (@PostPolls) November 7, 2017
PRELIM VA EXITS: Dems appear to have an edge over Reps in party ID among voters, just under 4 in 10 ID as Dems, just over 3 in 10 ID as Reps
— Post Polls (@PostPolls) November 7, 2017
Oops:
Voters forced to cast provisional ballot after error at Chesterfield polling station https://t.co/TDheJOEpOE
— WTVR CBS 6 Richmond (@CBS6) November 7, 2017
Neat:
Henrico voter turnout on pace to exceed 50 percent: https://t.co/fbcYENaanR #Election2017 pic.twitter.com/dMuxOT9z4U
— Henrico Citizen (@HenricoCitizen) November 7, 2017
Today our news org was turned away 2x at polling places bc volunteers don't know laws & our rights. We were not allowed to film Hyra vote.
— WTVR CBS 6 Richmond (@CBS6) November 7, 2017
These are the people that didn’t know my district existed:
Our team is beginning to arrive in election offices across Virginia.
Polls close at 7pm, we expect first results minutes after the hour.— Decision Desk HQ (@DecisionDeskHQ) November 7, 2017
Huh? I’m in a “bellweather county” I guess.
Why eyes are on Henrico and Chesterfield in the Va. governor's race https://t.co/ZTOiIw8CVb
— WTVR CBS 6 Richmond (@CBS6) November 7, 2017
Well this is a bit premature. Probably should screenshot it in case it gets deleted. :)
VA will reject racist campaign of @EdWGillespie, reject the rhetoric of @realDonaldTrump and we're gonna sweep tonight! @AriMelber @MSNBC pic.twitter.com/jApw39MpLn
— Terry McAuliffe (@TerryMcAuliffe) November 7, 2017
Oh yeah, I saw this on Morning Joe:
Donald Trump Jr. tells voters to vote on the wrong day — twice https://t.co/Ii8kE3T58W pic.twitter.com/f9YQtCQmNL
— The Hill (@thehill) November 7, 2017
Given polls showed a close race I’m not sure “huge upset” would be applicable here, but still. (Normally I wouldn’t put baseless speculation here but it was retweeted by a somewhat trusted [Republican] source.)
Second round of exit polling in VA-GOV is in and…nothing about these numbers looks right at all to me. Huge upset brewing.
— Jeff B back in black (@EsotericCD) November 7, 2017
Just for the record, with 10 minutes to go before the polls close, I honestly don’t know who is going to win, nor do I particularly care. Both candidates are roughly the same on issues that might affect me.
I have heard anecdotally throughout the year that polls have been close, and also that polls have shown Northam running away with it. Recently I have heard that Gillespie has “pulled even” and polls are pretty close. I don’t really know if any of that is true and don’t have any facts or figures at hand.
Just remember: no matter who wins in Virginia, the important thing is everyone had fun.
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) November 7, 2017
Polls closed in Virginia. (New Jersey doesn’t close until 8.)
Virginia exit poll:
White (68%)
Gillespie 59%
Northam 40%Black (20%)
Gillespie 13%
Northam 86%Latino (6%)
Gillespie 35%
Northam 62%— Steve Kornacki (@SteveKornacki) November 8, 2017
Virginia voter suppression tweets went undetected by Twitter for hours https://t.co/TGtudwQ1D4 pic.twitter.com/B4RjYiZDEz
— WTVR CBS 6 Richmond (@CBS6) November 8, 2017
Well now this interrupted the election coverage:
JUST IN: Pres. Trump attempted to make an unannounced visit to the DMZ, but had to turn back because of bad weather https://t.co/ncTpOaqm5O pic.twitter.com/dBiY7yy1GN
— CNN (@CNN) November 8, 2017
Bad omen for Gillespie: With 98.7% in Chesterfield, it's Gillespie 49.9%, Northam 49.0%
Was Cuccinelli +8 in 2013
— Mark Murray (@mmurraypolitics) November 8, 2017
Over half of Chesterfield is in and Gillespie up by less than a point.
That’s very ominous for the GOP
— Jonathan Martin (@jmartNYT) November 8, 2017
Note to self: A post full of tweet links is really hard on a browser.
With about half of all Henrico precincts in, it appears Ralph Northam, Justin Fairfax and Mark Herring, all Democrats, will easily outpace their Republican counterparts here. Each holds at least 59% of the Henrico vote.
— Henrico Citizen (@HenricoCitizen) November 8, 2017
I’m no expert but with Northam leading 51-48 with 35% reporting, I’m thinking Northam is going to win this one handily.
🚨🚨🚨
Northam up by 19 in bellwether Loudoun Co (DC exurb) w nearly half vote in.
I don’t see a how a Republican recovers from that #vagov
— Jonathan Martin (@jmartNYT) November 8, 2017
Democrat Ralph Northam is the next Gov of Virginia. Dems are making substantial gains in leg races
— Gerry Connolly (@GerryConnolly) November 8, 2017
It's Northam's night. pic.twitter.com/PuyPFdJcAV
— Nate Cohn (@Nate_Cohn) November 8, 2017
Okay way too many tweets flying by to keep track of them now. Seems pretty clear that Northam is going to win at 8 pm. Will paste in the rest of the results later.
BREAKING: Democrat Ralph Northam will win Virginia’s governor race, CNN projects https://t.co/BARA8oQvDR #CNNElection pic.twitter.com/fAe5JgRZsy
— CNN (@CNN) November 8, 2017
UPDATE
