RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — The Richmond Office of the General Registrar building is still closed as of Monday days after hazardous fumes were released into the building due to a heating system malfunction.
The office announced it would not hold early voting Wednesday, Jan. 31 due to a failure of the building’s heating system which also resulted in the building being closed early the next day.
In a video posted to X on Wednesday, Jan. 31, Richmond General Registrar Keith Balmer said the failure caused the “release of fumes and smoke,” although Richmond Fire and Emergency Services arrived quickly to prevent further damage.
As a result, early voting for the presidential primaries has been held at Richmond City Hall since Thursday, as crews work to fix the issue at the Registrar’s office. Richmond branch NAACP President James “JJ” Minor told 8News he went to City Hall last week to cast his ballot.
“My experience here was okay, because I work here,” he said. “However, when folks are voting here, there are no [parking] spots out here reserved for voters. So, it’s not really accessible.”
The parking around City Hall has been an issue for some of the redirected voters, Balmer also admitted it was a problem.
“I hate to tell voters that they have to, you know, try and pay a meter to in order to cast their ballot,” said Balmer. “But unfortunately, that’s the case at City Hall.”
The Office of the General Registrar, located on West Laburnum Avenue in Richmond’s Northside, was supposed to be the only early voting site open in Richmond before two satellite locations were set to open on Feb. 20, one of which being City Hall. The other satellite location is the Hickory Hill Community Center, located at 3000 East Belt Boulevard in Richmond’s Southside.
On Monday afternoon, a mobile boiler sat outside the Office of the General Registrar while crews worked to replace the old one. Balmer said he and his staff plan to do extensive testing to make sure the air quality is not still hazardous on Tuesday, with hopes of reopening the building on Wednesday.
“This is all really just unfortunate,” Balmer said. “But our hope is that we can return back to this office at some point this week.”
Balmer said that voters should keep an eye on the office’s social media pages for news on when the building will reopen.
“We also post it on our website. You know, not everybody has access to those things,” said Balmer. “So if voters do show up at our office, here, then you know the signs should direct them to City Hall.”
Early voting for Richmond residents will continue to take place at City Hall, starting at 8:30 every weekday morning, as well as Saturday, March 2, which will be the last day to vote early.
