Virginia was one of 13 states to hold their presidential primary elections March 1.
In the Democratic and Republican primaries, 11,215 votes were cast, with 8,388 people voting in the Democratic primary and 2,827 people in the Republican primary.
More people voted this year than any other presidential primary in the city, Rosanna Bencoach, general registrar for the City of Charlottesville and University alumna, said.
Charlottesville experienced a voter turnout rate of 48.3 percent — the highest since the gubernatorial election in 2013, Bencoach said.
Charlottesville converted to scanned paper ballots for the primary in accordance with a state mandate made in November.
Bencoach said Charlottesville officials printed more ballots and recruited more election officials in preparation for the primaries. These officials are paid volunteers who are trained to help residents at polling places vote.
This year’s presidential primary was a dual primary, with both parties holding primaries. The last two dual primaries were in 1988 and 2008.
“1988 and 2008 and 2016 were all years when there was no incumbent president, so both sides were very competitive,” Bencoach said. “That’s what leads to higher turnout — higher competition.”
Anne Hemenway, vice chair of the Charlottesville Electoral Board, said she credits Bencoach with distributing information about voting to Charlottesville residents.
“She’s done a lot more on social media to encourage people to vote and to get information out about deadlines and absentee ballots, and sending out information,” Hemenway said.
Hemenway also said the higher competition and better media coverage led to the large voter turnout.
“In general, there’s a lot of choice, a lot of publicity about the candidates, and a lot of candidates,” Hemenway said. “It’s going to bring out more people to vote, because there’s been so much information in the news and social media, so it’s spurred people to vote more than in the past.”
Geoffrey Skelley, associate editor of “Sabato’s Crystal Ball,” said a specific candidate is responsible for the high level of turnout this cycle.
“The number one source of intensity is Donald Trump,” Skelley said. “A lot of people showed up to vote for him, but a lot of people also showed up to vote against him. Trump is a driving force either way you cut it.”
However, Skelley said he does not believe voter turnout was exceptionally higher in Charlottesville for this presidential primary compared to earlier primaries.
“The increase in the Democratic Party matched the population growth in the city,” Skelley said. “The Republican primary participation increased threefold. It matched what we saw across the country, with Republican primary turnout much higher.”
The 2008 Democratic primary election between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton was much more competitive, which resulted in higher Democratic turnout, Skelley said.
“It’s hard to match the 2008 election between Obama and Clinton,” Skelley said.
Hemenway said she believes the voter turnout demonstrates that citizens realize the stark differences in the policies of each candidate and feel more encouraged to vote for the candidate they support.
“I think it has awakened people’s consciousness that they have a right to decide where they want the country to go,” Hemenway said. “If they don’t speak up, it can go in a direction they aren’t happy with. It’s generated a sense of civil purpose for people who might’ve thought that their vote doesn’t count, but it clearly does, a lot.”
The results of Super Tuesday have supported the earliest predictions of “Sabato’s Crystal Ball,” Skelley said.
“Super Tuesday has confirmed that we’re likely heading toward Clinton and Trump as the nominees,” Skelley said. “There’s a chance that Trump can be stopped, but not likely, and it’s a much smaller chance that Clinton can be stopped.”
Despite the organization required for a dual primary and the high voter turnout, Charlottesville officials said they experienced very few problems.
Super Tuesday proved the city of Charlottesville is prepared for the expected larger voter turnout for the presidential election in November, Bencoach said.
“Yesterday was good practice for November, especially since we went to our new paper ballots in November, and we went to a new software in June,” Bencoach said.
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