I don’t know about Chesapeake but where I voted in NoVA we had a choice between optical and electronic. I chose optical b/c there was no line. Oddly all the lefties where I live wanted to vote via the so-called dreaded Diebold machines and there was a short wait for them.
Funny thing about the optical though. You fill it out like a standardized test then put it in the scanner. Your voting choices are fairly clear to the election official who stands over you when you put the ballot in the scanner. Mine, of course was marked for McCain and I got an evil eye when she gave me my “I voted” sticker. I (jokingly) wondered if I put my ballot in a scanner or a shredder.
We use optical scanners here, but we have privacy sleeves to put over our ballots, so the official can’t see how we voted as we slide our ballots into the scanner.
Maybe you could petition your local elections office for privacy sleeves for next time?