Updated: Burke Turnout Low for Virginia's Super Tuesday

UPDATE: 1:30 p.m.—At Burke's , 68 people had voted in today's GOP presidential primary, of 2,548 registered voters.

"It's a hotbed of tranquility here," said Tom Troy, chief elections officer at the precinct. He noted that they usually see more traffic from after-work voters in this precinct.

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UPDATE: 1 p.m.—Virginia's 2012 Republican presidential primary is getting off to something of a slow start Tuesday, according to anecdotal evidence gathered from area precincts in Fairfax County.

At Orange Hunt Elementary School in Springfield, 6820 Sydenstricker Road, Chief Election Officer Debbie Dosch said turnout so far today is "nothing like it usually is here. We usually have one of the highest—if not the highest—voter turnout rates in the county."

"We have very faithful voters in this precinct," said Dosch of Precinct 824. "Voting is almost like social time. Our precinct is a very friendly place."

As of 11:20 a.m., the precinct had seen 120 voters out of 4,000-plus registered voters, she noted.

At about 12 noon, at Precinct 127 at the in Burke, turnout was 102 voters out of 4,743 registered. That's 2.15 percent, according to the precinct's chief election officer.

And at 11 a.m. at Saratoga Elementary School, 8111 Northumberland Road in Springfield, the precint had seen 90 voters, according to election workers.

A quick sampling of area precincts by Fairfax County's chief election official, Cameron Quinn, saw a high of 123 voters at Silverbrook Elementary in Fairfax Station, just before 12 noon, she told Patch. The lowest reported to her so far was at Herndon's Hutchison Elementary, where 16 people had voted just before noon.

Outside most precincts, it was fairly quiet. But Patch saw Ron Paul supporter Melina Brajovic, from Pennsylvania, on Tuesday. She said she traveled to Virginia to show her support for Paul, who is one of only two candidates on the Virginia ballot with Mitt Romney.

"In Virginia, both Republicans and Democrats can vote in the primary, which is not the case in Pennsylvania," she said. "I wanted to carry the message to Virginia that Ron Paul can be very appealing to both parties because he is for healthy government. Dr. Paul is focused on the issues the majority of people are concerned about, like the economy.  He wants to use our country's resources wisely and strategically to build a strong America."

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As Virginia heads into , the mood is decidedly flat, likely due to the ballot : former Massachusetts Gov. and Texas Congressman .

"I expect a poor turnout. With no real competition, many voters will conclude, 'Why bother?'" said Mark J. Rozell, professor of Public Policy at  in Fairfax.

Anthony Bedell, chairman of the Fairfax County Republicans, agreed. "Turnout will be very low," he predicted.

Similaries to 2000 Primary

Because President George W. Bush (R) went unchallenged in 2004, the last comparable GOP presidential primary race to this year's was in 2000 when Vice President Al Gore went unchallenged for the Democrats. Five Republican candidates, including Bush and John McCain, battled for the GOP nomination.

That year, Virginia saw a 17.28 percent turnout. Participation that year was highest in Virginia's 8th Congressional District and lowest in the state's 9th Congressional District.

In Fairfax County in 2000, of the 544,157 registered voters, 126,234 turned out to vote in the GOP presidential primary, a 23.2 percent turnout, said Elections Chief Cameron Quinn.

In 2008, when there was both a Democratic and Republican primary, turnout was about 11 percent statewide, according to the Virginia State Board of Elections.

"Four years ago, it was 9,500 [voters] roughly…in Arlington in the Republican presidential primary," said Mark Kelly, former chairman of the Arlington County Republican Party. "Of course, the Obama-Clinton primary was going on the same day. There was more attention drawn to it as well. I'm guessing lower (this year), just because it doesn't seem like they (the candidates) are really contesting this."

Kelly estimated Arlington's turnout to be between 5,000 and 6,000 on Super Tuesday.

"I don't think that's going to point to the lack of enthusiasm of Republicans for November," Kelly noted. "It's more of a reflection just of the… lack of overall attention that seems to be paid here. I'd have to assume that turnout is going to be lower."

Potential VP McDonnell Encourages Participation

Gov. Bob McDonnell, who has endorsed frontrunner Mitt Romney and , asked that voters turn out on Tuesday, in a conference call with reporters on Monday.

"We have two candidates — Ron Paul and our endorsed candidate Gov. Mitt Romney — and while it [the Virginia primary] is one of 10 races that are being held across the country, we obviously think Virginia is a critically important state," McDonnell said.

"It's said to be a swing state," he said. "It was a state that three, four years ago went for Obama and seven years ago went for President Bush so it certainly has the ability for both Democrats and Republicans to win. That's why most people think Virginia will be a very important state in November. We're asking our Republican activists and Independents who want to vote in the Republican primary, to go out and vote tomorrow."

Is McDonnell, who is oft-discussed as a potential running mate with Romney, serving up Virginia's delegates to Romney on a silver platter? University of Virginia Prof. Larry Sabato, in his "Crystal Ball" report, noted Virginia's leaders are Romney supporters and said that Romney will "sweep or nearly sweep" the state and is "guaranteed Virginia" and its 46 delegates up for grabs. 

Patch editors Nicole Trifone and Jason Spencer contributed to this report.

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