Nearly 44 percent of Virginia voters cast ballots in 2009 election, certification shows

RICHMOND, Va. - The results stayed the same, but the turnout grew after a certification of the Nov. 3 elections by the State Board of Elections yesterday.

A total of 2,168,574 Virginians voted, or 43.76 percent of the registered voters. Early reports showed the turnout at about 40 percent. The turnout was slightly less than the 45 percent in 2005, but because more people are registered, about 168,000 more people voted than four years ago.

Reflecting the strong Republican vote and the weak Democratic vote, the turnout in Virginia’s counties was 45.47 percent, while in the cities it was 39.81 percent.

Republican Bob McDonnell won the election for governor with 58.6 percent of the vote. His victory over Democrat R. Creigh Deeds by 17.3 percentage points was the second-largest margin since the two parties became competitive. In 1993, George Allen had a 17.4 percentage point margin over Democrat Mary Sue Terry.