The redistricting amendment passed in Virginia Tuesday will allow Democrats to pursue redrawn congressional district maps for the 2026 midterm elections.
The Associated Press called the race in favor of the redistricting amendment’s passage at 8:49 p.m. Tuesday. According to unofficial results from the Virginia Department of Elections, more than 1.5 million votes (51.45%) supported the amendment and more than 1.4 million (48.6%) opposed.
Democrat Sandy Marks has claimed victory in the special election for City Council Tuesday, and Alexandrians overwhelmingly voted yes on the redistricting constitutional amendment.
According to unofficial election results, Marks leads with 53.37% of votes over independent candidates Frank Fannon (29.41%) and Alison O’Connell (15.02%), 32 precincts reporting vote tallies. There have been 51,256 ballots cast out of 116,366 registered voters, representing 44% turnout.
More than 42% of registered Alexandria voters have headed to the polls to vote on today’s congressional redistricting referendum and a special election for an open seat on Alexandria City Council.
As of 4 p.m., 19,183 voters cast in-person ballots across the city, in addition to 22,836 mail-in and in-person early ballots, adding up to 42,019 total ballots cast, according to figures released by Angie Maniglia Turner, the city’s general registrar and elections director. Turner said she is expecting gubernatorial-level turnout on the decision to amend Virginia’s Constitution to allow the General Assembly to temporarily redraw congressional maps for the upcoming election and resume the normal redistricting process after the 2030 U.S. Census.
Tuesday, April 21 marks Election Day in Alexandria for a statewide redistricting voter referendum and a special election for a City Council seat.
Candidates in the City Council special election are Democrat Sandy Marks and independent candidates Alison O’Connell and Frank Fannon. Marks is the former chair of the Alexandria Democratic Committee, Fannon is a former Republican member of City Council from 2009 to 2012, and O’Connell is a founding member of Alexandria for Palestinian Human Rights.
Alexandria resident Olivia Troye, once part of the Trump administration, is joining the growing field of Democratic 7th Congressional District candidates running as Virginia voters consider redrawn districts.
Troye is a former career intelligence officer who served as an aide to former Vice President Mike Pence. She made national headlines after resigning from her post at the White House under President Donald Trump in 2020 and is now running as a Democrat in the 7th Congressional District.
With less than two weeks until the April 21 special election, candidates for an open seat on Alexandria City Council made their pitches to civic association members yesterday (Wednesday) at a forum.
Democratic candidate Sandy Marks and independent candidates Alison O’Connell and Frank Fannon joined the forum, held during Alexandria Federation of Civic Associations’ monthly meeting. Candidates answered questions on topics the civic association leaders selected, along with a lightning round of policies they would support or oppose.
Two opposing events will be held in Alexandria this week ahead of the April 21 statewide referendum on redrawing congressional maps.
Virginia Democrats have been pursuing the mid-decade redistricting in response to similar actions in states across the country to gain party control of Congress in November’s midterm elections. A recent Washington Post-Schar School poll shows 52% of likely Virginia voters favoring redistricting. Even if redistricting advances in Alexandria, the city would remain within the 8th Congressional District.
The three candidates running for an open seat on Alexandria City Council will meet in two forums this week.
For most voters, the upcoming appearances on Wednesday (April 8) and Saturday (April 11) are the last opportunity to see the candidates together before the special election on Tuesday, April 21. The candidates, who last appeared together at a forum on March 26, are Democratic candidate Sandy Marks and independent candidates Alison O’Connell and Frank Fannon.
Three weeks before the April 21 special election, more than 9,000 votes have been cast through in-person early voting and mail ballots, according to the Alexandria Office of Voter Registration and Elections.
According to data through Sunday (March 29), 4,245 people have voted early in person. General Registrar Angie Maniglia Turner told ALXnow another 244 early votes were counted through 3:30 p.m. Monday (March 30).
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.
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.
