Morning at the Polls: Vienna Town Council Race Off to Steady Start

Despite increasingly heavy rain Monday morning, voter turnout for the 2013 Vienna Town Council elections wasn't any slower than in years past.

As of 9:05 a.m., 145 voters had cast ballots at the Vienna Community Center — a number that wasn't breaking any records but was certainly in line with years past, election workers said.

"It's not unusual," one worker said.

In last year's elections, about 4.97 percent of Vienna's 11,218 active registered voters — around 558 people — cast ballots.

The average turnout over the past five elections is 7.96 percent of the town's active registered voters, Public Information Officer Kirstyn Barr told Patch.

The highest turnout in that time was in 2009, when the town saw a 13.6 percent voter turnout.

The four candidates — Laurie DiRocco, Carey Sienicki, Howard Springsteen and Ryan Thomas — braved the rain with umbrellas and boots, talking to voters that trickled in and out of the building.

Thomas anticipated the rain might delay the usual 9 a.m. rush to later in the morning, around 10 or 11 a.m., he said.

Resident John Shreffler, president of the Westbriar Civic Association, said outside the polls Tuesday there weren't any particular issues that drew him to vote. Instead, he came to endorse the work of the three incumbents running for office.

He said he's seen DiRocco, Sienicki and Springsteen act as good stewards of the town in meetings and other public events over the past two years.

"I don't see a call for jumping ship," he said.

Some other voters said they were worried about Tysons growth, but declined to elaborate on who they were backing in the election.

Polls are open until 7 p.m. Tuesday. Check back with Patch for updates and full results.

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