Registrar addresses Election Day wait

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) - During a city council meeting Tuesday, Virginia Beach council members questioned Beach registrar Donna Patterson about the long lines on election day at various precincts.

"We didn't quite plan on having lines quite that long," Patterson said. "I think there was a combination of things to be honest with you."

Patterson told city council the plan is to go precinct by precinct and look at issues.

"We're really trying to figure out what we could have done for this election and what can we do in the future to prevent the lines from being that long," Patterson said.

Patterson told council an unexpected amount of curbside voting. One precinct had almost 150 people with limited mobility show up, which requires taking a machine outside.

Officials say some of the machines were breaking down because they were outdated.  Patterson said the ones used in last week's election have low battery life and can easily lose calibration.

"There is next generation voting equipment coming down the line," said Election Board Chairman Al Ablowich. "We don't know when that's going to be. We don't know what's approved by the state at this point."

Officials believe the newer versions of the machines will be in place by the next presidential election.

Once Patterson's office is done looking at the problems, they are expected to brief council.

During Tuesday's meeting, council members also brought up the idea of early voting. Virginia is one of 15 states that does not allow traditional early voting, and it is something that the General Assembly would have to approve.