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Why this Virginia voter is concerned about her mail-in ballot: 'I'm frustrated'

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Why this Virginia voter is concerned about her mail-in ballot: 'I'm frustrated'


CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. — With only 22 days left before the Presidential election, Betsy Spath thought she’d get her mail-in ballot by now.

“I was signed up as a permanent voter, to get my absentee ballots through the mail, every year, for perpetuity, for forever. And when it didn’t come by last week, I got a little concerned, because previously it had come a little before that,” Spath said.

Her registrar’s office in Chesterfield County said her ballot was sent to her Midlothian address on September 20, but Spath said she never got it.

She was then given two options: request a second mail-in ballot or vote in person.

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“I’m just really nervous, I’m afraid it won’t come again. And that’s my only concern. I’ll be really up to the end to vote, and I don’t want to be in that position,” Spath said.

Though it’s unclear why Spath’s mail-in ballot hasn’t made it to her home yet, Virginia lawmakers, including Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, as well as Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan, Representative Abigail Spanberger, and a staffer from Rob Wittman’s office, met with USPS Postmaster Louis DeJoy and Virginia Commissioner of Elections Susan Beals, and most came away from their meeting with a certainty that mail-in ballots will be handled efficiently for this election season.

According to their recent meeting, Richmond mail is now at about 85% efficiency with on-time delivery.

“The average time for a ballot to go through the mail, whether it’s going from, outbound, from the registrar to the voter, and then back in, the average time for that is 2.18 days, which is a relatively fast turnaround time,” Spanberger said.

Spath noted that most of her neighbors had received their mail-in ballots about three weeks ago, but she wasn’t the only one to not receive one.

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“It’s never happened before, and I’ve had several neighbors tell me that their college kids have not received their ballots. So this is not just a one in a million, this is happening in Virginia, in 2024. And this is a big election, every vote counts, as in every election,” Spath said.

Around October 21, USPS will start employing “extraordinary measures,” where election mail will be made a top priority, and different routing measures may take place.

There will also be heightened attention to any mail tampering or election intimidation by mail.

Though USPS’s Inspector General’s Office listed Virginia as the fourth worst region for on-time mail delivery in the country, lawmakers said they’ve had productive conversations with both USPS and the Virginia Department of Elections about voting by mail.

“Because of the pressure that the delegation has put on the post office, not only to get the mail delivery times up, but to be more forthcoming and communicative, not only with their customers, but with us and now with the Department of Elections, I think we do feel comfortable that while we are not where we want to be with mail delivery time, we’re getting there,” McClellan said, noting that though there will be an increase in mail flow due to mail-in ballots, most people will likely still choose to vote in person.

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Each representative shared a similar message with reporters at a press conference Friday: Mail your ballot or drop it off at your local post office as soon as possible, and if you’re able, vote in person.

Though Spath was told her second mail-in ballot would come within the next 10 days, she’s prepared to make alternative plans if it doesn’t.

“I’m going to get my vote in, no matter what,” she said.

CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.

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Virginia

'Largest seizure of explosive devices in FBI history' found in a Virginia home

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'Largest seizure of explosive devices in FBI history' found in a Virginia home


The FBI seized more than 150 homemade explosives from a Virginia man’s home, ABC News reported on Wednesday. 

Federal investigators made this discovery in December while searching the home of Norfolk, Virginia, resident Brad Spafford.

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According to court documents, it is believed to be “the largest seizure by number of finished explosive devices in FBI history,” ABC News reported.

The court documents added that most of the bombs, material for building explosives, and tools were found in a garage next to Spafford’s home. 

“Several additional apparent pipe bombs were found in a backpack in the home’s bedroom, completely unsecured,” said prosecutors.

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An FBI investigator (credit: REUTERS)

‘Never planned anything violent’

Spafford’s defense attorneys argued in a motion Tuesday that he never planned anything violent.

“There is not a shred of evidence in the record that Mr. Spafford ever threatened anyone, and the contention that someone might be in danger because of their political views and comments is nonsensical,” his lawyers said.

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The prosecution responded, “While he is not known to have engaged in any apparent violence, he has certainly expressed interest in the same, through his manufacture of pope bombs marked ‘lethal,’ his possession of riot gear and a vest loaded with pipe bombs, his support for political assassinations and use of the pictures of the President for target practice,” ABC News reported.

According to the court documents, “this investigation began in early 2023 when the defendant’s neighbor and friend reported that the defendant disfigured his hand in 2021 while working with a homemade explosive device and was stockpiling weapons and homemade ammunition.”





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Virginia Tech Transfer Portal Talk: January 1, 2025

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Virginia Tech Transfer Portal Talk: January 1, 2025


Matt Moore will bring at least two West Virginia linemen to Virginia Tech. (WV Sports Now)

With Matt Moore signing up to be the next offensive line coach at Virginia Tech and with the Hokies already snagging commitments from a couple of his former West Virginia players, I thought I would dedicate this week’s transfer portal article to offensive line recruiting.

There are hardly any teams in the country that couldn’t do better on the offensive line. There just aren’t that many big people who can move their feet in this world. Thus, the price of offensive linemen in the transfer portal gets driven up, and it’s up to each program to decide who it wants to conquer that challenge.

With the transfers of Xaver Chaplin and Braelin Moore – two starters with two years of eligibility remaining – Brent Pry didn’t just need a quality offensive line coach. He also needed an offensive line coach who could do more effective work in the transfer market than his predecessor Ron Crook. He found such a guy in Moore, who appears to be in the process of raiding his former school of players. It was certainly important that the Hokies get better, but if they could get better while hurting a border rival (even if the schools don’t play), then all the better.

Offensive guard Tomas Rimac followed Moore to Blacksburg. He was the highest-grading offensive guard in the Big 12 last season and his PFF grade was higher than any Virginia Tech offensive lineman. That’s a great start to this portal period.

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West Virginia Turnpike tolls increasing

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West Virginia Turnpike tolls increasing


KANAWHA COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) – ”Nothing has changed since I was a kid. The roads are worse,” Tina Martin, a traveler on the West Virginia Turnpike, said.

Martin grew up using the West Virginia Turnpike and paying tolls, but she was surprised to hear the price was raising by a quarter at each toll plaza starting New Year’s Day.

“Matter of fact, I forgot when we were coming back down about the tolls until I saw, you know. I said ‘oh my God, they’re still, still doing this now.’ I didn’t know it was going up to $4.50.”

Martin lives in Roanoke, Virginia, now and said her grandchildren asked her why they charged people to go through the turnpike.

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“Well, honey, let me tell you a story about that. When I was a little girl, they built this turnpike and I said the tolls that they took were supposedly to pay for the road,” Martin said.

She said her grandchildren questioning the tolls has her doing the same after all these years.

“If a child understands that every time we come through here and she says every single car is getting $4.25, that’s a lot of money.”

State officials said they’d like to add credit card readers at toll plazas in 2025 and Martin said it was an option she almost needed on New Year’s Eve.

“We were just lucky that I had a few you know had some dollars coming down the road because usually I just have cards. I forgot about the tolls so I think that’s a good idea.”

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Unlike Martin, some travelers didn’t seem bothered by the increase because they use an E-Z pass to travel through multiple states, but you’ll need an extra quarter for each toll if you’re traveling next year.



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