Early voting is underway for a School Board District A special election following School Board Member Willie Bailey’s abrupt resignation.
The election sees real estate agent and former Parks and Recreation commissioner Gina Baum square off against Tim Beaty, an Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) substitute teacher and former Global Strategies Director at the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
The wait for early voting should be a little shorter next year.
The City of Alexandria is working to expand its Office of Voter Registration and Elections in Old Town (421 King Street) to accommodate a surge in early voting.
Alexandria Democratic members of the Virginia’s General Assembly were swept back into office on election night.
There were no surprises from the unofficial election returns Tuesday night. Facing no opposition, Democratic incumbents Del. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker (5th) was reelected to a second term with 21,622 votes, and Del. Charniele Herring (4th) was reelected to her eighth two-year term with 10,368 votes. Del. Alfonso Lopez (D-3rd) was also reelected with 81% (16,837 votes) and defeated independent candidate Major Mike Webb.
About 30% of Alexandria voters are expected to turn out at the polls on election day today, Nov. 7.
As of 10 a.m. — four hours after polls opened — 21,661 voters cast their ballots, which is about 23% of the city’s 96,232 active registered voters. A vast majority of those ballots, 13,927 votes (64%), are from absentee voters. Also as of 10 a.m., 7,734 voters cast their ballots in person, according to the city’s Office of Voter Registration and Elections.
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.
In a bid to make voting in the West End faster, the Office of Voter Registration and Elections is planning to add two new precincts to the neighborhood.
Ahead of the planned increase to six precincts, aimed at decreasing the number of voters per precinct in the presidential election in the fall of 2024, the city is asking for public feedback.
Conservative talking head Sean Hannity used Alexandria’s “I Voted” sticker in a segment attacking national elections, though why the city’s logo was used is never addressed in the ten-minute segment.
Hannity expressed frustration that some elections were still too close to call, which makes the use of Alexandria’s sticker all the more puzzling.
Next Monday marks the last day Alexandrians can register to vote or update their registration for the Nov. 8 general election.
Applications to vote can be submitted online before midnight on Monday, Oct. 17. They can also be submitted in-person at the Office of Voter Registration and Elections (132 N. Royal Street, Suite 100) by 5 p.m. the same day or mailed in provided they are postmarked before Oct. 17.
Today (Tuesday) is the last chance Alexandrians have to vote in the Democratic primary.
In-person voting is underway for the 8th Congressional District Democratic primary, in which incumbent Rep. Don Beyer faces political newcomer, Arlingtonian Victoria Virasingh.
(Updated 3:15 p.m.) Early voting in the upcoming Democratic Primary is scheduled to start later this Friday, May 6.
The only election on the ballot is the Democratic nomination for the 8th District House of Representatives seat. Victoria Virasingh is hoping to unseat Don Beyer, the 8th District Representative for eight years.
Longtime voter registrar Anna Leider, who retired last year after managing over 40 elections, died this weekend after a long battle with brain cancer.
Leider grew up in Alexandria and was a fixture of local election days before her retirement in 2020.
