Election Day is Tuesday, with state legislature seats on the ballot

Election Day is tomorrow, Tuesday, which brings to an end an entire season of voting that kicked off in September.

Alexandrians voting on Tuesday will face few decisions tomorrow, as the only contests on the ballot are for the 39th District of the Virginia State Senate and three House of Delegates districts.

“This will be the first election held in the new General Assembly districts,” Mayor Justin Wilson said in his most recent newsletter. “Alexandria will be entirely represented in the 39th State Senate District and will be represented by three members of the House of Delegates, those elected from the 3rd District, the 4th District, and the 5th District.”

Polls open at 6 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. and voters will have the opportunity to register and vote on Tuesday provided they head to the correct polling location. Sample ballots are available online.

Ahead of voting, the city recommends voters confirm their polling place on the state Dept. of Elections website, a map of which is also on the city’s website. The city notes one change for tomorrow’s election: the former South Port Apartments Precinct will vote at the Tucker School (435 Ferdinand Day Drive).

Unlike many other states, Virginia has an off-off election year, when ballots contain local contests but no federal or state-level offices — races that traditionally drive higher turnout. This year, there is national attention is on Virginia because Republicans are vying for control of the Democratically held Senate, giving them a trifecta.

Although Alexandria is largely Democrat, Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-31) has been sounding the alarm on the progress he says Republicans will repeal if they take control of the Democratically held state Senate, including the majorities needed to party to push for a 15-week abortion limit.

Ebbin is up for re-election and is challenged by Republican Sophia Moshasha.

He says he is focused on pushing a Democratic agenda and blocking attempts by Republicans to repeal gun safety laws and abortion rights. He also champions wage increases public school teachers and law enforcement officers to tackle attrition from these sectors, an issue leading to staffing crunches within Alexandria’s police force and public schools system.

Moshasha, a self-described technology advocate, has pledged to tackle rising crime and affirm the role of parents in public education. She says she has a moderate view on abortion — affirming exceptions for rape, incest and the health of the mother — and supports tackling climate change but criticizes state policies such as Virginia Clean Energy Act for burdening individual households.

With a Republican trifecta in reach, Youngkin has been actively campaigning on behalf of local Republican races and keeping the possibility of a 15-week abortion limit front and center.

“I think this is a reasonable place for us to land,” Gov. Glenn Youngkin said on ABC this week. “And what’s on the ballot, I think, is a choice between no limits and reasonable limits.”

After the polls close, the city says election officials will begin posting unofficial results on the state’s website.

Across Virginia, both House and Senate races are predicted to be close, according to the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, which adds that results may not be finalized Tuesday night.

“These races are on a razor’s edge, and with the way Virginia counties report their results, some races may not be called until about a week after the election,” it said in a press release sent Monday.

But Alexandria’s House of Delegates races are less competitive.

Del. Charniele Herring, the incumbent Democrat for the 4th District, is running unopposed for her re-election campaign. Likewise, Del. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker, the incumbent Democrat for the 5th District, is also running unopposed.

Del. Alfonso Lopez, the incumbent Democrat for the 3rd District, is up for re-election and is challenged by independent Major Mike Webb, a frequent candidate for office in Arlington County.