(Updated at noon) After relatively robust early voting, day-of voting in today’s Democratic primary in Arlington is off to a very slow start.
As of 9 a.m., only about 0.5% of active local voters cast ballots during the first three hours of voting this morning, according to the county elections office.
“It’s a slow one,” the office said via Twitter.
The highest turnout — 1% — was seen in the 45th House of Delegates district, which features a competitive race between Alexandria City Vice-Mayor Elizabeth Bennett-Parker and incumbent Mark Levine, who is also running for Lieutenant Governor.
Arlington is not alone in seeing low turnout. The neighboring City of Falls Church had only recorded 132 voters as of 9 a.m. Across the state, in fact, low turnout is being reported and is causing some concern among Democrats about a potential lack of voter enthusiasm.
Can confirm trying to find voters to interview in Richmond has been a challenge https://t.co/tfnTEFNEUm
— Graham Moomaw (@gmoomaw) June 8, 2021
One exception to the low turnout trend today: Alexandria, where competitive citywide races have drawn more a turnout of more than 10% as of 10 a.m.
Polls in Virginia are open from 6 a.m.-7 p.m.
The contested races on the ballot in Arlington — all Democratic primaries — are below.
- County Board: Takis Karantonis (incumbent) vs. Chanda Choun
- House of Delegates, 45th District: Mark Levine (incumbent) vs. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker
- House of Delegates, 49th District: Alfonso Lopez (incumbent) vs. Karishma Mehta
- Attorney General: Mark Herring (incumbent) vs. Jay Jones
- Lieutenant Governor: Hala Ayala, Sam Rasoul, Andria McClellan, Sean Perryman, Mark Levine and Xavier Warren
- Governor: Terry McAuliffe, Jennifer Carroll Foy, Jennifer McClellan, Lee Carter and Justin Fairfax
A number of non-Democrats will be on the ballot this fall, facing off against the primary winners in the November general election.
