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If the goal of moving the Blacksburg municipal elections from May to November was to increase voter participation, it worked.

Voter turnout in the town soared to 36.3 percent in last week’s election — by far the highest amount in more than a decade — according to figures released Monday by Montgomery County Registrar Randy Wertz. Wertz said 7,556 of the town's 20,831 registered voters cast ballots.

In May voting since 1998, voter turnout has fluctuated between 3.3 percent and 22.2 percent. Turnout for the past three town elections have been 12.5 (2008), 20.6 (2006) and 22.2 (2004).

Making the turnout even more remarkable is the higher number of registered voters.

Following the push to register voters in advance of the historic 2008 presidential election, there were nearly 21,000 registered voters in the town. That’s up more than 30 percent from any of the previous six election cycles.

Dave Nutter won a fifth term in the Virginia House of Delegates Tuesday.
Unofficial results showed Nutter, 54, an economic development specialist at Virginia Tech, came out well ahead of challenger Peggy Frank, an assistant commonwealth’s attorney in Pulaski County.
With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Nutter received nearly 60 percent of the votes cast.
“I think people were responding a lot to a basic message of getting the job done. I’ve been able to do that in the General Assembly,” Nutter said.
Two years ago, the district’s voters also chose Nutter, a Republican, over Frank. The race was decided by fewer than 700 votes.
This time, Nutter pulled significantly ahead. He beat Frank in her home county of Pulaski, garnering 69 percent of the vote. Nutter took slightly more than 60 percent of the votes cast in Montgomery County.
In contrast, Radford nearly split over the question of which one should be the region’s next lawmaker, with 54 percent voting for Nutter and 46 percent voting for Frank.
Nutter also led in fund-raising. His campaign raised $197,621 in money and in-kind donations and spent $177,291. Frank’s campaign chest came to $150,569. She spent $116,675.
This will be Nutter’s fifth term representing the state’s 7th House district, which consists of Radford and portions of Montgomery and Pulaski counties.
One voter who cast his ballot for Nutter explained his decision this way.
“I can rely on him to be against cap and trade,” said Mark Larkin of Claytor Lake. “I can rely on him to be against a public option. I can rely on him to be against big government.”
Kate Smith, who lives in the Pulaski County community of Mountain View, said she was struck that she did not seen Frank campaign signs nor receive a mailing in the rural community.
“It made me think she wasn’t interested in our area,” said Smith, who gave her vote to Nutter.
Carlotta Lewis, a Pulaski County resident, said she liked Frank and based her decision to vote for her on TV commercials and a call to her home from the campaign.
“She’s capable and she will do a good job,” Lewis said upon leaving her polling place.
-- Jeff Sturgeon

We have complete results here.

With nearly 90 percent of the vote, Christiansburg residents voted to change the muncipal elections from May to November, beginning in 2011, according to unofficial tallies from the Montgomery County regisitrar's office.

We have complete results here.

John Bush celebrates his win.

Four available Blacksburg Town Council seats were won tonight by incumbent Susan Anderson and newcomers John Bush, Krisha Chachra and Cecile Newcomb, according to the Montgomery County registrar's office.

We have complete results here.

We have analysis of the statewide results here.

Dave Nutter won a fifth term in the Virginia House of Delegates tonight, the Associated Press reported.

Incomplete returns showed Nutter, 54, an economic development specialist at Virginia Tech, well ahead of challenger Peggy Frank, an assistant commonwealth’s attorney in Pulaski County.

Two years ago, when offered the same two choices, the district's voters also chose Nutter, a Republican. The 2007 contest was a close race decided by fewer than 700 votes out of 12,644 ballots cast.

This time, Nutter pulled significantly ahead. He beat Frank in her home county of Pulaski, garnering 69 percent of the vote. However, Radford nearly split over the question of which one should be the region’s next lawmaker, with 54 percent voting for Nutter and 46 percent voting for Frank.

Montgomery County has not reported any results to the State Board of Elections as of 9:45 p.m.

We have complete results here.

We have analysis of the statewide results here.

Polls across Virginia opened at 6 a.m. today; they close at 7 p.m.

Do you have news (or even photos) to share from your polling place? Long lines? Short lines? No lines at all?

Let us know by posting a comment here.

We'll have updates through the day; and then tonight, we'll be posting election returns and analysis both here and on roanoke.com's election site.

Creigh Deeds, the Democratic candidate for governor, will make the traditional final-weekend stops in Christiasnburg and Pulaski on Saturday. It's been traditional for Democrats to spend the final weekend of the campaign in Southwest Virginia.

Meanwhile, Bob McDonnell, the Republican candidate, is elsewhere in the state. Here are the official schedules for candidates. Read more »

Creigh Deeds, the Democratic candidate for governor, and the rest of his party's ticket will be in Floyd tonight for the Floyd Jamboree.

Deeds' official schedule is below. If we hear of any appearances in the New River Valley in the closing days of the campaign by any of the Republican statewide contenders, we'll post them here.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2009

9:30 PM IN FLOYD - FLOYD COUNTRY STORE FRIDAY NIGHT JAMBOREE. Sen. Deeds, joined by Governor Tim Kaine, U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Jim Webb, Democratic candidate for Lieutenant Governor Jody Wagner and Democratic candidate for Attorney General Steve Shannon, will attend the Floyd Country Store Friday Night Jamboree.

When: 9:30 PM

Where: Floyd Country Store
206 South Locust Street
Floyd, VA

Both candidates for governor will be in Blacksburg Thursday, campaigning in and around the tailgating at the Virginia Tech - North Carolina game.

Here are the official schedules for both Republican Bob McDonnell and Democrat Creigh Deeds. McDonnell's is a little sparse on details at the moment; if we get more specifics, we'll post them here.

MCDONNELL:
4:15pm Tailgate at Virginia Tech University

Blacksburg

DEEDS:

4:30 PM IN BLACKSBURG - TAILGATE WITH VIRGINIA TECH YOUNG DEMOCRATS. Sen. Deeds will join the Virginia Tech Young Democrats for a tailgate before the Virginia Tech Hokies take on the University of North Carolina Tarheels. Deeds will talk to students about the importance of getting out to vote on November 3rd.

When: 4:30 PM

Where: Lane Stadium Parking Lot
Corner of Spring Street and Stadium Road
Lot # 1, Space 327
Blacksburg, VA

7 PM IN BLACKSBURG - VIRGINIA TECH VS. UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA FOOTBALL GAME. Sen. Deeds will attend the Virginia Tech football game. Kick off time is 7:45 PM.

When: 7:00 PM

Where: Lane Stadium
Corner of Spring Street and Stadium Road
Blacksburg, VA

Also, Deeds will be back in the New River Valley on Friday and Saturday. On Friday night, he'll at the Floyd Country Store and on Saturday, he'll be in Christiansburg. Here are details on the Floyd visit; the Christiansburg info hasn't been finalized yet:

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2009

9:30 PM IN FLOYD - FLOYD COUNTRY STORE FRIDAY NIGHT JAMBOREE. Sen. Deeds will attend the Floyd Country Store Friday Night Jamboree. The Floyd Country Store Friday Night Jamboree features live music and dancing.

When: 9:30 PM

Where: Floyd Country Store
206 South Locust Street
Floyd, VA

Creigh Deeds, the Democratic candidate for governor, will make appearances in Radford and Blacksburg on Saturday.

When we get word about any campaign appearances in the New River Valley by Bob McDonnell, the Republican candidate, we'll share them here, as well.

Deeds' schedule is below:

1 PM IN RADFORD - LUNCH WITH SUPPORTERS. Sen. Deeds will join U.S. Senator Mark Warner, Rep. Rick Boucher (D-9th District) for a lunch with supporters at a house in Radford.

When: 1:00 PM

Where: Home of Gail Montouri
801 Oak Lane
Radford, VA

3 PM IN BLACKSBURG - GET OUT THE VOTE EVENT WITH SENATOR MARK WARNER. Sen. Deeds will join U.S. Senator Mark Warner and Sen. John Edwards (D-Roanoke) for a get out the vote campaign event in Blacksburg. Sen. Deeds and Sen. Warner will speak to voters and supporters about the importance of getting out the vote on November 3.

When: 3:00 PM

Where: Democratic Coordinated Campaign Office
208 North Main Street
Blacksburg, VA