RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Most Virginia voters aren’t paying attention to upcoming legislative elections in November that will determine which political party controls the state Senate, according to a new poll. The poll released Friday from the Judy Ford Wason Center for Public Policy at Christopher Newport University shows 39 percent said they weren’t paying close attention and 27 percent said they were paying no attention. Only 34 percent of respondents said they were paying attention to the campaigns. Professor Quentin Kidd, director of the Wason Center, said the poll suggests only about 26 percent of registered voters will turn out on Election Day. Virginia is among a handful of states that have off-year legislative elections, when turnout is usually lower. “These results demonstrate a classic pattern in Virginia’s off-off-year elections,” Kidd said. “A far greater proportion of voters say they intend to vote than are actually paying attention to news about the elections or paying attention to candidates for office.”
