RICHMOND CITY COUNCIL
Richmond City Council – Richmond City Hall - 900 E. Broad Street, Suite 200 - Richmond, VA 23219 - www.council.richmondva.gov
COUNCIL PUBLIC INFORMATION NEWS ADVISORY
IMMEDIATE RELEASE TO BE FORWARDED AND SHARED
Wednesday, 21 November 2012
Richmond City Council commends the Richmond Office of the General Registrar for outstanding success on the 2012 General Election
Record turnout surpassed unprecedented turnout of 2008 election
WHAT (Richmond, Virginia U.S.A.) -- Richmond City Council commends the Richmond Office of the General Registrar and its staff, Board, and cadre of nearly 1,000 Election Officers for their outstanding work and success with the 2012 General Election.
One of the single most important public activities that involves all Richmond residents and includes the active participation of nearly half of Richmond's population, local and general elections are tremendous undertakings that include multiple time-critical activities throughout the year.
In Richmond, as localities across Virginia saw three and four hour waits for voting during Election Day (held Tuesday, November 6, 2012) in places like Tidewater and Northern Virginia, 61 out of 65 Richmond Voting Precinct Voting Locations had the last person voting by 7:15 p.m. In many Richmond Voting Precinct Voting Locations, the last voters actually finished voting right at, or slightly before normal closing time of 7:00 p.m.
Of the remaining Richmond Voting Precinct Voting Locations, two finished at 7:30 p.m., one at 7:45 p.m. and the last at 8:00 p.m., which is believed to have been due to a large number of college students who were registered elsewhere and requesting to vote by provisional ballots, which takes longer to process.
The success of the 2012 election process came even as Richmond experienced a record voter turnout year that surpassed even the unprecedentedly large turnout of the 2008 Election, with 94,131 votes in 2008, and 98,899 this year (2012).
In addition, the election process was not allowed to be thwarted in the week prior to the election by the impending effects of Hurricane Sandy, as the Richmond Office of the General Registrar kept its doors open and accessible to the public the entire week for absentee voting and maintained its schedule of training classes for Election Officials.
The remarkable accomplishments and resolve of the Richmond Office of the General Registrar and its staff, Board, and cadre of nearly 1,000 Election Officers represent the culmination of superior organizational skills and logistical management witnessed throughout the year and bespeak an excellence that should be celebrated by all Richmond residents.
The critical work required for producing elections includes, but is not limited to, the following:
• Implementing and adhering to various changes to voter/election laws, policies, procedures at the state and federal level, as required.
• Maintaining and monitoring compliance with all existing state and federal laws, rules and regulations involving elections and voting.
• Managing and processing thousands voter registrations.
• Mailing thousands of voter registration cards.
• Managing secure databases and information technology for thousands of voter registrations and records.
• Delivery of public voter education training throughout Richmond.
• Recruitment and retention of hundreds of Election Officers.
• Managing, upgrading, inventorying, storing and certifying Voting machines/technology and providing for required maintenance, as needed.
• Implementing changes to state, local and national voter districts and voter precincts, as required.
• Establishing and confirming Richmond Voting Precinct Locations.
• Managing process of local Prospective Candidate Applications, which includes application validation and certification processes.
• Producing Political Party Primary Elections, as required, which includes full-scale logistical deployment, verification and certification of results.
• Meeting strict legal deadlines throughout the year, which include those for candidate applications and certifications, primaries (as required) voter registrations, absentee voting, election days, etc.
• Preparation and delivery of hours of intensive training classes for hundreds of Election Officers.
• Establishing and managing process and deadlines for Absentee Voting.
• Deploying and managing personnel, staff, materials and machines for 65 Richmond Voting Precinct Voting Locations for election activities.
• Managing comprehensive Election Day activities for all Richmond Voting Precinct Voting Locations.
• Managing election returns and certifying results.
• Managing provisional balloting process and verifying and certifying results.
• Managing recount processes, as required.
In America, public government service and voting are considered to be among the most noble and important things a person can do and, through their actions, the Richmond Office of the General Registrar and its staff, Board, and cadre of nearly 1,000 Election Officers and Richmond residents have proven her dedication to and support of the principals and creed written into the founding documents of our great Nation, in that our individual destinies and that of our families, communities, city, state and country include not only the aspiration of our federal constitutional republic but the support of all its citizens in realizing the fulfillment of its promise.
CONTACT For more information, please contact Steve Skinner, Council Public Information Manger, at 804.646.6052 (office); 804.335.4054 (mobile); 804.937.1386 (home/mobile); or skinnesr@ci.richmond.va.us (email)
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Steven R. Skinner, APR
Council Public Information Manager
RICHMOND CITY COUNCIL
OFFICE OF THE COUNCIL CHIEF OF STAFF
Richmond City Hall
900 E. Broad Street, Suite 305
Richmond, Virginia 23219
804.646.6052 (office)
804.335.4054 (mobile)
804.937.1386 (home/mobile)
804.646.5468 (fax)
steven.skinner@richmondgov.com (email)
www.council.richmondva.gov(website)
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MISSION The mission of Richmond City Council
is to represent citizens in creating and amending
local laws, providing government policy and
oversight, and approving the city budget.
VISION Richmond City Council is committed to
creating a vibrant community that is a great place
to live, work, learn, play, visit and raise a family.
