election | ALXnow

With 19,000 voters expected at school sites, April 21 student holiday approved at ACPS

Published March 30, 2026 at 2:45PM

Voting at Douglas MacArthur School (Staff photo by Jay Westcott)

The Alexandria City School Board approved April 21 as a student holiday as election officials anticipate high turnout for the special election at school-based polling sites. While students will be off, ACPS staff will have a work day.

Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt presented the School Board with the proposal last Thursday (March 26) after a discussion with Alexandria’s election officials. April 21 is the date of the special elections to decide a statewide mid-decade redistricting amendment for Virginia’s congressional districts and fill former Councilman R. Kirk McPike’s City Council seat following his election to Virginia’s 5th House District.

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Three candidates for Alexandria City Council clash at West End forum

By James Cullum

Published March 26, 2026 at 3:45PM | Updated April 20, 2026 at 10:23AM

(Left to right) City Council candidates Alison O'Connell, Frank Fannon and Sandy Marks at the West End Business Association's forum at Feru Bar and Restaurant, March 25, 2026 (via Sandy Marks for the City/Facebook)

Clear distinctions were made Wednesday night among the three candidates running in the April 21 special election for an open seat on the Alexandria City Council.

For an hour and a half on Wednesday night, Democratic candidate Sandy Marks and independent candidates Alison O’Connell and Frank Fannon discussed a wide range of topics, including taxes, the controversial bike lane proposal for Braddock Road, the pump station at Waterfront Park, federal immigration enforcement and more.

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ACPS plans to make April election day a student holiday

By Katie Taranto

Published March 26, 2026 at 10:50AM

ACHS (staff photo by James Cullum)

The Alexandria City School Board is expected to approve a calendar revision that would make Virginia’s April 21 election date a student holiday.

Alexandria City Public Schools has recommended the School Board approve the item during tonight’s meeting (Thursday), as voters will be in school-based polling locations on Election Day.

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Former Councilman Mo Seifeldein banks on grassroots support as fundraising trails Beyer

By Emily Leayman

Published March 6, 2026 at 2:45PM

Former City Council Member Mo Seifeldein, who is running for Virginia's 8th Congressional District, at the Alexandria Democratic Committee's Labor Day Picnic at The Garden Alexandria, 5380 Eisenhower Avenue, Sept. 1, 2025 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Former Alexandria City Councilmember Mo Seifeldein is second to Rep. Don Beyer in fundraising for the Aug. 4 Democratic primary race in the 8th Congressional District.

According to FEC filings through the end of 2025, incumbent Beyer led Democratic candidates with $1.16 million in fundraising. Seifeldein followed with over $117,000. The only other Democratic candidate reporting donations through the end of 2025 is fired State Department worker Michael Duffin, with over $23,000.

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Early voting in Alexandria begins Friday for City Council special election

By Katie Taranto

Published March 4, 2026 at 10:00AM

Voting at Charles E. Beatley, Jr. Central Library in Alexandria's West End, Nov. 5, 2024 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Alexandria voters can begin casting early ballots this Friday to participate in the city’s April 21 special election.

This includes the City Council race and a proposed constitutional amendment to redraw Virginia’s congressional maps.

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Democratic City Council candidate Sandy Marks lays out stakes in upcoming special election

By James Cullum

Published March 2, 2026 at 1:00PM

Sandy Marks, the Democratic nominee for the open City Council seat, at St. Elmo's Coffee Pub in Del Ray (staff photo by James Cullum)

Fresh from her recent Democratic firehouse primary win, City Council candidate Sandy Marks says there’s a lot on the line in the upcoming special election.

Marks is facing independent candidates Frank Fannon and Alison O’Connell in the race, which is slated to coincide with a proposed constitutional amendment to redraw Virginia’s congressional districts.

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Independent candidate Alison O’Connell turning in signatures to join City Council special election

By James Cullum

Published February 27, 2026 at 3:45PM | Updated February 27, 2026 at 4:53PM

Alison O'Connell (courtesy photo)

With today’s 5 p.m. deadline fast approaching, Alison O’Connell is working to submit 125 signatures needed to file an independent candidacy to run for Alexandria City Council.

O’Connell, a founding member of Alexandria for Palestinian Human Rights, is hoping to run for City Council with platform issues that include affordable housing, ethical investment and anti-immigration enforcement measures. She and her team have been collecting signatures and turning them in throughout the day to the city’s registrar’s office, she told ALXnow this afternoon (Friday).

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JUST IN: Republican nominee withdraws from Alexandria City Council race

By James Cullum

Published February 26, 2026 at 3:10PM | Updated February 26, 2026 at 6:37PM

Voting at Temple Beth El Synagogue (Staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Gerry Chandler, the Alexandria Republican City Committee’s nominee in the April 21 City Council special election, is withdrawing from the race.

Chandler, an educator and computer scientist, told ALXnow that he will not be running due to the “financial disclosures” he would have to submit. So far, Democratic nominee Sandy Marks and independent candidate Frank Fannon are the only people running to replace former Councilman-turned-Delegate R. Kirk McPike.

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Alexandria’s congressional primary elections moved to August amid redistricting push

By Emily Leayman

Published February 26, 2026 at 9:20AM

Voters at the Mount Vernon Recreation Center on Election Day, Nov. 4, 2025 (staff photo by James Cullum)

The 2026 congressional primaries in Alexandria and the rest of Virginia will be delayed until August, leaving more time for candidate filings after the fate of mid-decade redistricting is decided.

Alexandria’s General Registrar Angie Maniglia Turner confirmed to ALXnow that the city will have its primary elections on Aug. 4. According to Maniglia Turner, the city’s only primaries in 2026 are Sen. Mark Warner (D)’s U.S. Senate seat and U.S. House of Representatives.

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Alexandria sets Friday filing deadline for City Council candidates in April special election

By Katie Taranto

Published February 23, 2026 at 3:50PM

Voting sign at the Charles Houston Recreation Center in Old Town on Election Day, Nov. 4, 2025 (staff photo by Katie Taranto)

The City of Alexandria has confirmed the April 21 special election date for an open seat on City Council, and candidates are required to file by the end of this week.

Candidates are required to have all paperwork submitted to the General Registrar by 5 p.m. this Friday, Feb. 27 in order to appear on the ballot, according to a city announcement this afternoon (Monday).

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BREAKING: Sandy Marks wins Democratic firehouse primary for City Council seat

By James Cullum

Published February 21, 2026 at 10:55PM

Alexandria City Council candidate Sandy Marks (center) with her supporters outside the Leonard "Chick" Armstrong Recreation Center on the day of the Democratic firehouse primary, Feb. 21, 2026 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Former Alexandria Democratic Committee Chair Sandy Marks has won the Democratic firehouse primary for an open seat on City Council tonight (Saturday), beating four opponents to face independent candidate and former Republican councilman Frank Fannon in the special election.

Marks won with 1,573 votes (39.6%), against 947 votes for Tim Laderach (23.8%), 876 votes for Roberto Gomez (22%), 467 votes for Charles Sumpter (11.7%) and 112 votes for Cesar Madison Tapia (2.8%) out of the 3,975 ballots cast. From the time polls opened at 8:30 a.m. to closing at 7 p.m., the five candidates spent time at both polling locations: Charles E. Beatley, Jr. Central Library (5005 Duke Street) and the Leonard “Chick” Armstrong Recreation Center (25 W. Reed Avenue).