About 80% of Alexandria voters are expected to turn out this Election Day, according to the city’s General Registrar and Director of Elections.
Registrar Angie Turner said that 80% of the city’s 99,369 registered voters are expected to vote.
That’s on par with other presidential election cycles. There was a 79% turnout in 2020, 83% in 2016 and 86% in 2012.
About 47% of the city’s registered voters have already voted. There were 36,363 in-person early ballots cast, as well as 10,588 ballots returned by mail or drop box, according to the city’s election dashboard.
This year’s ballot includes the presidency, Congress, City Council and School Board.
Turner said Virginia voters are not prohibited from wearing political clothing or accessories, but are not allowed to actively campaign 40 feet from the polling place entrance.
“Voters, if they are in the act of voting, are welcome to wear any political shirts, hats and so forth,” Turner said. “However, they can’t actively campaign inside that 40-foot entrance to the polling place, that prohibited zone, but they are welcome to wear any political paraphernalia.”
There was a line of about 20 people at the Cameron Station precinct (200 Cameron Station Boulevard) when polls opened at 6 a.m. Among those voters was unopposed Democratic mayoral candidate Alyia Gaskins, who stands poised to be elected the city’s first Black female mayor.
In the weeks leading up to election day, Gaskins released videos urging voters to cast ballots for Kamala Harris for president.
“There are tears in my eyes of joy, excitement,” Gaskins said after voting. “I’m also a little overwhelmed. No matter what, this election is historic, not just for me, but because of the amazing council we have the opportunity to elect, but also electing our nation’s first female president.”
Alexandria is solidly Democratic. In the last presidential election President Joe Biden got 66,240 votes, against the 14,544 votes for former President Donald Trump.
Polls close at 7 p.m., after which unofficial results will be posted on the Virginia Department of Elections website.
“”We will be here until the last results are in, the last items dropped off, everything is signed, sealed and delivered for our election night processes,” Turner said.
Turner said that there are between 17 and 20 election workers stationed at each of the city’s 32 polling places.
The registrar’s office will finish counting all ballots sent by mail and postmarked by Election Day by Nov. 8, determinations will be made on provisional ballots by Nov. 14 and the Virginia Board of Elections will certify the results on Nov. 2, Turner said.
