Election officials were encouraging voters todry off before filling out ballots to avoid problems, and damp ballots were being allowedtodry before being tabulated, said Ryan Enright, a spokesman for Virginia's Board of Elections.
He said a "lucky window" of four days in May when dry weather had allowed him to fill his barn with silage for the winter, whereas his neighbouring farmer had suffered six weeks of "relentless" rain.
United Utilities project manager Jason Boyd said the company had been taking out "what we've been allowed" but water removal had caused the rivers to run dry in past summers.