When ice glazed over the roads on February 12, tens of thousands of Northern Virginians missed an opportunity to vote in an historic Presidential Primary. Stuck on interstates, ramps, bridges, and even local roads, they called the State Board of Elections hoping to hear that poll hours were being extended, as they were in Maryland, which kept voting open until 9:30 pm. Unfortunately, Virginia law does not provide a mechanism to allow the polls to stay open in such an emergency.

To address this deficiency in the state code, Senator Barker introduced legislation that would allow a judge to extend polling hours in an emergency. George believes it is important for Virginia voters to have confidence that an emergency will not keep them from being able to cast their votes this November. Although this bill passed the Senate, it was defeated this year in a House committee. Senator Barker plans to revisit this issue again next year.