Majority of Nelson voters support Obama

By Erin McGrath

Published: November 12, 2008

Click here to see how Nelson County residents voted on Election Day

Nearly 76 percent of the 10,722 registered voters in Nelson County cast ballots in the Nov. 4 presidential election.

Nelson County Registrar Lisa Wooten said while this election didn’t have the biggest turnout of voters Nelson has ever seen, it was still high.

“That’s better than it’s been in the past,” Wooten said. She also said she thought the voting was smooth throughout the day.

“I think it went really, really well, all things considering,” Wooten said. “We had some lines, but everybody was moving along. All in all, it was great.”

A total of 54 percent of Nelson voters chose Sen. Barack Obama, compared to 44 percent for Sen. John McCain; 69 percent voted for former Gov. Mark Warner for the Senate seat being vacated by the retiring Sen. John Warner, compared to 30 percent for former Gov. Jim Gilmore.

A total of 56 percent of Nelson voters chose Tom Perriello, and 44 percent voted for Rep. Virgil Goode Jr.

In the late hours on Election Day, Perriello gained more votes.

During canvassing on Nov. 7, Perriello gained votes from Nelson County after a data entry and communication error between the Schuyler precinct and registrar’s office reported 100 less votes than were actually cast, Wooten said.

As of last week, Perriello had 745 more votes than Goode in the race.

Wooten said the next step would for the election results to be certified by the Virgina State Board of Elections, which meets Nov. 24. Any recount would occur after the certification.