ROANOKE (WSLS)-- Super Tuesday is here-- a chance for voters in several key states, including Virginia, to decide who they want to represent their party in the race for president.
As voters in Roanoke City head out to the polls, they can expect some changes in where they cast their ballots. This is the first election that the Voter Precinct Realignment Project will be in place.
Recommended Videos
At its highest level, the City of Roanoke was made up of 32 precincts, with 32 separate polling locations. On election day, some of those polling places would be busy with extremely long lines, and other locations wouldn't be busy at all. Now the region has been redistricted into 21 precincts, in an effort to even out the number of people voting at each location.
"The premise behind looking at precinct realignment is looking at how we can improve voting for voters," says Andrew Cochran, the Director of Elections for the City of Roanoke. "We realized there was a big disparity in the number of registered voters. We had precincts with less than 1,000 voters and we had some with more than 4,500 voters."
The average precinct size is now between 2,800 and 3,000 voters. All of the polling locations are expected to be put to the test during this primary election, with the chance to break voting records in Virginia.
Voter turnout for primary elections has been huge so far. Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada have all shattered previous records.
Virginia could play a significant role in selecting who will run for each party. The state has 159 delegates up for grabs today, including 49 republicans, 95 democratic delegates and 15 super delegates.