Primary ushers out voting Machine.

June 14th, 2005, 06:51 PM

Some of the most venerable participants in Wise County's democratic process will have their final curtain call and bow out of the political picture for good following Tuesday's statewide two-party primary elections.

Polls open at 6 a.m., and when they close at 7 p.m. the curtain will literally be drawn for the last time on more than three decades worth of service to Wise County's voters: The old machines with the big red handle and enough levers to pass for a 1950s Hollywood B-movie spaceship are being replaced.

Wise County Voter Registrar Tom Chester said voters who cast ballots in Tuesday's primary election at the county's 12 precincts can take advantage of demonstrations of the new touch-screen machines they will use for the first time in the November elections.

If anyone has a hankering for a genuine old voting machine in their rec room, meanwhile, Chester might have a deal for you.

"The old ones will be gotten rid of," he said. "We might be able to sell them to scrap metal dealers. We will probably keep at least one for posterity purposes. They've served us well for many years. For 33 years in fact. They've been very reliable and very durable during these 33 years. They were first used in the presidential election of '72, Nixon versus McGovern."

A two-party same-day primary is rare in Virginia, but the stoic old machines and Chester are, as usual, prepared to do their duty.

"This one has had its share of aggravations, that's for sure, because it's a dual-party primary," he said. "Basically it's two separate elections held the same day, so that makes it a little bit different to deal with."

Because Virginia doesn't require party affiliation to register, when they come to the polls Tuesday voters must state in which party they wish to cast ballots. The only segment of the state Democratic slate that remains to be settled is for lieutenant governor. The four candidates seeking to become Lt. Gov. Tim Kaine's gubernatorial running mate are state Sen. Phillip P. Puckett of Lebanon, J.C. "Chap" Petersen, Leslie L. Byrne and Viola Osborne Baskerville.

The state Republican primary includes the gubernatorial runoff between Scott County native and former state Attorney General Jerry Kilgore and Warrenton Mayor George B. Fitch; Sean T. Connaughton and William T. "Bill" Bolling vying to become the GOP candidate for lieutenant governor; and Stephen E. Baril and Robert F. "Bob" McDonnell for attorney general.

Kilgore was in the Chesapeake and Hampton Roads areas on Monday. He said he was looking forward to getting the formalities of the primary behind him so he can get on with the "real" campaign.

"I feel great about tomorrow. We are doing trial runs in many areas to organize for tomorrow to see what works and what doesn't work for the November elections," he said. "I am confident I will be declared the official candidate for governor for the Republican Party, and then we will continue to run against our real opponent in this campaign, Tim Kaine."