Patrick County voters will have the opportunity to participate in Virginia’s presidential primary on Tuesday, March 1. All polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Virginia will be among 11 states holding primaries on March 1, which is known as “Super Tuesday.” The other states are Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and Vermont. Because this is a dual primary in Virginia, election officers must determine in which primary election the voter wishes to vote. Voters will be asked whether they want to vote in the Democratic Party or Republican Party primary. All voters who are qualified to vote may vote in either primary, but they cannot vote in both. The choice to vote in a party’s primary does not mean that the voter will be “registered” with that party, because Virginia does not register voters by party. Voters are reminded to bring an acceptable form of photo identification with them on Election Day, which is required under Virginia law. A free voter photo ID card is available to any registered voter who does not already possess a valid form of identification. A card can be obtained by visiting any registrar’s office. A registered voter needing to vote by absentee ballot may do so in person at the registrar’s office. The final day for in-person absentee voting is Saturday, Feb. 27, at 5 p.m. For additional information, call the registrar’s office at 276-694-7206. Sample ballots are printed in this newspaper, showing the names of the candidates. Some of the candidates on the ballot have already suspended their candidacies, but their names will still be on the ballot. The Democratic Party candidates listed on the ballot are Hillary Clinton, Martin J. O’Malley, and Bernie Sanders. O’Malley has withdrawn from the race for the Democratic Party nomination. The Republican Party candidates listed on the ballot are Marco Rubio, Lindsey Graham, Ben Carson, Mike Huckabee, Ted Cruz, Donald Trump, Jim Gilmore, Chris Christie, Jeb Bush, Rick Santorum, John Kasich, and Carly Fiorina. Bush, Graham, Huckabee, Gilmore, Christie, Santorum, and Fiorina have suspended their candidacies for the Republican nomination for president.<a href="http://www.mountainmedianews.com/enterprise/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/political-party-buttons.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-971" src="http://www.mountainmedianews.com/enterprise/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/political-party-buttons-300x183.jpg" alt="political-party-buttons" width="300" height="183" /></a>
