Election day took on a distinctly international tone for Mount Vernon District Supervisor Gerald "Gerry" Hyland when 20 visitors from across the globe arrived at his office to get a first-hand view of how the U.S. election process works.
All part of the U.S. State Department's International Visitor Leadership Program, the group represented countries that included Great Britain, Europe, Central America, Asia, Mexico, and the Caribbean.
"There is a dynamic in this election that I have never seen before. And, I think Virginia is still in play," Hyland told the group assembled in his office conference room at the Mount Vernon Government Center on Parkers Lane early Tuesday afternoon.
Answering a question about exit polling, which once again became questionable in this election, Hyland said, "If I were doing exit polling I would concentrate on the bellwether precincts. The ones that usually vote for the winner.
"There is one in my district, Stratford, that is always correct. When I run for election I wait to see what the returns are from that precinct. They have never voted for a losing candidate. If I win there, I know I have won the election," he said.
When asked about television networks predicting winners just after the polls close, Hyland told the group, "I have a problem with the networks playing the projection game. It seems to be more for their egos and ratings than anything else. Hopefully, they'll be more careful this time after what happened in 2000."
This particular group was here under the aegis of the department's program on U.S. Trade and World Economy. The 60-year-old program is designed to increase the knowledge of up and coming world leaders about the United States.
Although the group was accompanied by State Department personnel, they were not permitted to make identifiable comments for the press without prior approval. This also applied to the visitors.
Each group spends approximately three weeks in this country traveling to various locales. During their travels they visit with a broad group of individuals and organizations.
TWO PRIMARY ELEMENTS of interest to this group were the Electoral College and the length and expense of our election process. In the latter case, a visitor from Great Britain suggested we adopt their constraints on both elements. There campaigning is limited to a very short time frame and total expenses are capped.
"The Electoral College concept is one way of insuring that smaller states, at least, have some impact on the election process," Hyland said. As an example, he cited South Dakota which has approximately one half the population of Fairfax County.
As for the cost of U.S. presidential campaigns, Hyland said, "I don't think the amount of money expended will ever be totally controlled. We, as a nation, are very inventive as to how to spend money whenever controls are imposed."
Following the visit, Hyland said, "I'm always excited to have people from around the world come to see our democratic process in action. It's a thrill for me to see people come to learn what we do and how we do it."
As for this particular group he said, "They had good questions. They were provocative and probing. I hope they brought back to their countries a better understanding of this day is all about and what was taking place."
Following the meeting in his office, the group accompanied Hyland across Parkers Lane to Walt Whitman Middle School where he cast his vote. As one visitor from Europe said, "This is a great opportunity for us to actually see the process in action."