Did you vote today? The editors at washingtonpost.com are interested in hearing how your experience at the polls was today. What did you observe?

I did vote in Arlington today, and I have to say the logistics were terrible. There was only one person to check everybody in. No segmentation of people by alphabet to split the lines and usher people through (e.g., last name starts with A-G, H-L, etc.).

It made a 20 minute voting experience take over an hour (and I showed up very early).

The majority of the time, the five or so voting machines had NOBODY voting at them, because it took so long to process each person...one by one. I have to say it was pretty frustrating to see.

Any reason why they set up this way?

I voted today in Hampton, Virginia. Why weren't the schools closed? I went this morning and had to go through a bunch of children. But I didn't mind, I would have walked through fire for OBAMA!

I voted in Arlington and was in line for 90 minutes. One of the election officials explained that the check-in was so slow because they had to manually check each name to make sure 1) the person hadn't already voted absentee and 2) the person hadn't already voted in the other party's primary. So no matter how many people they had checking voters in, it would still be slow. They are hoping to go electronic by November.

People were generally patient, although I did notice several people leaving. That's too bad.

Took me 30 minutes in Arlington (arrived at 7:10am) and friends in South Arlington had it take an hour. Same issue - one person checking everyone in - I was the 98th person to vote in the democratic primary, so they were only getting about 1 person/mintue.

In Charlottesville, it was only about a 3 minute wait, at 7:40 a.m. My precinct, serving downtown, was well staffed and efficient. But then, that's also the precinct from which the local NBC affiliate does its live poll broadcasts.

Is the J.E.B. Stuart High School (mention of Obama voters) named after General Lee's gallant cavalry commander?

I voted in Arlington. It took about 5 minutes at 8 AM. I had expected there to be a higher turnout.

Voted for Clinton. Both candidates will bring change, but change without a clear direction or know-how isn't what the country needs.

I guess I just wanted more substance.

I also voted at Saint George's in Arlington this morning. After arriving at 8:30 a.m., I cast my ballot after 10:00 a.m. (95 minute wait). Although there appeared to be five voting machines at the location there was only one check-in table so no more than two of the machines were ever being used.

A poll worker conducted a count of people around 8:45 and I was the 121st person in line. She said they were processing voters at the rate of 100 per hour.

I would estimate that about 1 out of 10 people who walked in and saw the line simply turned around and left. One older gentleman left after he discovered that his wheelchair would not fit down the hallway with people lined up on both sides. No poll workers were present at the entrance to provide assistance to the elderly or disabled who were not able to stand in the long lines.

Other people I've talked to who voted in Arlington this morning reported waits of 20-40 minutes. Does the Saint George precinct simply have more voters than it can reasonably handle?

I voted at 6:10 a.m. this morning in Sprinfield, Virginia. There were only about 7 people voting at that time. There was excitement on behalf of Senator Obama; some people could hardly contain themselves. However, I chose to vote for Hillary Clinton. She has the experience, strength of character and a good grasp of the issues and will be a formidable opponent when she debates Senator McCain.

I posted earlier about waiting 90 minutes...I voted at Key Elementary. Maybe, like Patrick's, our precinct is just too large?

We need a systemically similar and electronically fair method of voting for the entire country so that votes are not lost due to inconvenience.

My wife and I voted in Ashburn. We arrived at the polling place at about noon. Although there was a steady flow of people coming, the lines were small and moving quickly. We were able to get in, vote, and out within 20 minutes. Overall, a good experience.

While staunchly independent, we voted for Obama today...need change in direction for the country!!!

I am still wondering why schools weren't closed. A lot of my friends are having difficulty getting to the polls in time, because they have to catch a bus on the morning, and have sports or work after school.

Also, I wanted to volunteer at the polls and couldn't!

Good for all of us who are listening to the differences in the words of Clinton and Obama. I want to be energized by an inspirational leader, but I want to be able to articulate what about that leader's message inspires me. I waited, I listened to all debates and read countless news accounts and transcripts. Consistently, Clinton talked about her plans and proposals, her experience and her vision in a way that was accessible and solid. Obama's promise to be a uniter, his call to trust him on faith alone failed to sustain the lift of his oratory. Clinton was an easy choice for me, a loyal Democrat.

I had the same experience as Patrick at St. George's. At the peak there must have been at least 150 people in line and it was not because of a lack of voting machines, but because of the bottleneck to check-in. Whoever thought one table was sufficient should be fired. The problem was not lack of workers -- there were plenty standing around inside and roaming the lines. The problem was just one set of books for everyone in a precinct that covers the most dense residential area in Arlington.

Terrible lines this morning in the virginia square/st.george's district. Worst I have ever seen. Arlington should be ashamed.

Voted outside of Middleburg, VA at a local elementary school. I was the only one there voting at 9 something. Sorry to hear there were lines elsewhere - following thru with my right to vote would have been tough to wait for 15, let along 90 minutes.

St. George's in Arlington was indeed terrible. I think it's mainly because the county isn't keeping up with the huge population growth of the Orange line corridor. Lots of new condo buildings and residents in Ballston, yet we don't get additional polling places...

to share concerns about what occured in arlington, call 703-228-3456 or e-mail
countyboard@arlingtonva.us

I voted in Northern Virginia around 11:30 AM, one person ahead of me. I voted for Mike Huckabee because he signed the NumbersUSA Roy Beck no amnesty pledge and said no increase in green cards.

Voted today at Bush Hill Elementary in Alexandria (Go MCCAIN!). Extremely efficient and smooth operation. I was there around 12:30 - about 15 people were in line at any time: took maybe 10 minutes to get in line, check in, vote, get out.

Well done! Kudos to all the volunteers that kept the process moving smoothly.

Understand Obama's change message...read what his minister says...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-wright_11feb11,1,4431179.story

Go Hillary! Vote for Hillary!

Voted this afternoon in southern Loudoun. I was surprised to see a choice of an electronic versus paper ballot. I just don't trust the electronic and the potential for mischief.

Voted for McCain to reinforce the message that there's more to the Republican Party than the extremists....

I voted in Herndon around 3:30. Only one person ahead of me, but shortage of parking. There was only one check in station, so that one person ahead of me was a big hold up. She was hard of hearing, not very sharp, and not prepared to show an ID (had to slowly empty her purse one item at a time to dig it out). After that, all was fine. Altogether it was a 5-10 minute process. Get out an vote.

Went to Bush Hill Elementary in Alexandria to vote at 10am but there was about 20 people in line and I was already very late for work so I turned around. Will try again tonight.

I tried to vote in Fairfax, but I was one of the unfortunate people stuck for over two hours on 495 in Alexandria near the mixing bowl. I left over an hour earlier than usual to give myself a comfortable margin. When I got to my polling place 3 minutes after 7, I was informed that I could not vote.

I had gone there after hearing on the radio that a request for an extension to the polling hours had been submitted. What does Maryland know that Virginia doesn't? I'm sure many other voters experienced this and will be as upset as I am. Fortunately for me, my candidate won, but I would have appreciated being allowed to vote, given that the highways were shut down by a state decision.

A friend of mine and I attempted to make it to our polling place, a two mile trek from my residence, at 6:15 pm in Arlington. After sitting in traffic for over forty-five minutes and passing two accidents we arrived at the polling place at 5 after 7 and the polls were closed. We probably could have walked in the ice and gotten there faster...

My boyfriend and I were turned away at our polling place in Falls Church after arriving at exactly 7:00, despite leaving work in DC at 5:30. Our bus was late, stuck in traffic, our car was covered in ice, and the roads were horrible. The polling places should have been permitted to extend their hours, and I should have been allowed to vote. The official called the voting commission and they refused to extend the hours. About 5 other people arrived soon after me and were turned away. The whole situation was ridiculous.

It was good to see that 14% of the Democrats that voted were in the "young" category (18-29). That has also been Obama's key- getting the young vote out. 45% of this age group uses the Internet to make their election choices and on the Internet Barack is king:

Barack vs. Hillary- The Google Effect:
http://newsusa.myfeedportal.com/viewarticle.php?articleid=47

I, too, am annoyed at our County for the situation in Arlington at St. George's yesterday. I arrived at 6:10AM and finally got to vote at 6:50AM. (Great if it was due to tremendous turnout, but I was only the 70th person to vote!)

I can't understand why they only provided resources to process one person at a time. Why no "A-L/M-Z" lines as always before? (Yes -- I, too, noticed plenty of voting booths and workers idle.) I've voted in Arlington for the last 11 years and at St. George's for the last three. I've never encountered a polling place that can only process one person (out of all voters in line) at a time!

Like the person who posted previously, I plan to call 703-228-3456 AND e-mail
countyboard@arlingtonva.us to "express my concerns." Please consider doing this, too. A repeat of the "one-at-a-time check-in" will make voting in November a nightmare!

I am a PWC resident and I did not get to vote because of the weather. The VA Board of Elections and VDOT really messed up yesterday. The VA Elections should have been extended and they did not even try. I feel my voting rights have been violated. Last night was an emergency situation and as stated in the law, they should have extended the voting times. SHAME OF THEM FOR NOT SUPPORTING THE VOTING PROCESS.

Cindy Alexander

I was unable to vote in the primaries due to weather as well (2 hours of traffic in Arlington). It seems absurd to me that they wouldn't extend the hours. Who is responsible? Who could have made the call and FAILED? I'd really like to see the WP do a piece explaining what happened, and who exactly is to blame. I'd like to know who thought that my vote didn't matter.

I left work early to vote but it took me well over two and a half hours to get home, preventing me from voting. It was disheartening to hear that Maryland voters got an extension and they were caught in the very same traffic as me. I was camped out on the radio, listening to WTOP, hoping for an extension. This was discouraging, deplorable and short-sided.

At the top of this column is an e-mail address, votersvoice@washingtonpost.com, to be used to report a violation. This e-mail address does not work, "The e-mail account does not exist at the organization this message was sent to."

I voted and there were only a few people there. It was fine and even got a compliment on my license photo. Did not see many people working for candidates or signs outside.