Visitors from about a dozen countries came to Arlington on Tuesday to witness democracy in action.
As it does nearly every election day, Arlington played host to foreign media outlets and to foreign officials interested in learning more about the American election process.
Television news crews from France, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden, China, Australia and the UK all brought cameras to Arlington polling places throughout the course of the day.
The State Department and several NGOs also hosted visitors in Arlington. Observers from Spain, Bulgaria, Iraq, Pakistan and elsewhere came to learn about “how we run democracy in the U.S.”
Despite a large number of requests this year, county Registrar Linda Lindberg says there were even more requests from foreign visitors during the 2008 presidential election.
She said that Arlington’s proximity to D.C. is what makes it an attractive location. The county is not chosen for any specific reason — it’s simply used as an example of what takes place in the country as a whole.
The television crews are “just looking for background shots, B-roll shots,” Lindberg said.
She noted that the county tries to plan foreign visits to polling places in a way that ensures voters aren’t disturbed.
“They have to keep them in small groups so they don’t disrupt the election.”
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St. Charles offers a play-based curriculum in a welcoming, Christ-centered environment.
Our program focuses on socio-emotional development and kindergarten readiness through hands-on and engaging activities. Our programs offer different schedules ranging from 7:30 am-5:30 pm for students, ages 2-5. We feature a full-day Jr. kindergarten class for older 4’s/5’s. Our facility includes a full-sized gymnasium, school chapel, and library. All of our students enjoy music and physical education weekly. Children have an opportunity to participate in enrichment classes such as soccer, basketball, ballet, and science.
We offer Summer Camp with weekly themes and twice a week water play, including Fun Friday moon bounce. Please join us for our Open House Feb. 3 at 9:30 am and 11:00 am. Click here to sign-up.
For more information or to schedule a tour, visit us at www.stcharlesarlington.org or call (703) 527-0608.

If you are a lifelong learner over 50+ who wants to make new friends, power up your brain, and enjoy a wide-variety college-level courses, Encore Learning is for you. An Arlington based nonprofit, Encore Learning offers courses in the arts, theater, literature, history, technology and more. This semester we offer our most popular course, Global Hot Spots as well as 25 new courses. Courses are presented either online or in-person at George Mason University at Virginia Square and other Arlington locations.
Join the free presentation to learn about courses and meet the instructors. This is Encore Learning’s signature event to highlight the upcoming semester with brief presentations by each instructor.
The Spring Course Preview event is Thursday, February 2nd at 9:30 AM via Zoom:
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