Early voting on national, regional and local candidates and issues begins this week in Arlington.
In addition to the presidential election, Arlington residents will vote on races for Arlington County Board, Arlington School Board, U.S. Congress and U.S. Senate, as well as bond referenda and a proposed Constitutional amendment.
Where to vote early
Beginning Friday (Sept. 20), voters can cast their ballots in-person at the Bozman Government Center (2100 Clarendon Blvd, Suite 320) in Courthouse Plaza and the Long Bridge Aquatics & Fitness Center (333 Long Bridge Drive). These sites will open from 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday through Friday, until Oct. 15.
Starting Oct. 16, both locations will extend their hours on weekdays from 8 a.m.-7 p.m., Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sundays from 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
(Note: The Long Bridge location will be closed on Sunday, Oct. 27, for the Marine Corps Marathon.)
The county plans to open two additional early voting locations on Oct. 16 at the Madison Community Center (3829 N. Stafford St.) and the Walter Reed Community Center (2909 16th St. S.). These sites will be open from 2 p.m.-7 p.m. on weekdays, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturdays, and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. on Sundays.
County Board race
After the June Democratic primaries, the field of candidates vying to succeed outgoing County Board Chair Libby Garvey has narrowed from eight to four.
Democrat JD Spain, Sr. edged out Natalie Roy, Tenley Peterson, James DeVita, and Julie Farnam in a tight race, testing the county’s new ranked-choice voting system for the second time. Garvey previously endorsed Peterson to be her successor.
On the Republican side, Juan Carlos Fierro, running for the second time in two years, faced no opposition in his primary. Throughout both campaigns, Fierro has tried to strategically distance himself from broader national GOP politics, carving out a niche as a moderate with a keen focus on hyper-local issues like crime and housing.
Independents also remain in the fray.
Madison Granger, a fitness professional and entrepreneur, recently received the endorsement of the Forward Party. Meanwhile, Audrey Clement is making her 14th consecutive attempt to win public office since first running for County Board in 2011. Clement ran for school board in 2014 and 2018.
A standout issue during the primary was the recently approved Missing Middle housing ordinance, which allows the construction of smaller multi-family homes in traditionally single-family zones.
While Spain generally supported the change, Roy, DeVita and Farnam opposed it.
Both Clement and Fierro have also voiced strong opposition, arguing that it compromises affordable housing and overburdens Arlington’s infrastructure.
Madison Granger previously referenced the “bitter divide” over the Missing Middle policy but has not taken a formal position. Instead, Granger’s campaign has emphasized things like promoting “improved civil discourse,” preventing tax increases, expanding tree canopy coverage and enhancing public transportation.
School Board race
Candidates Paul Weiss, James “Vell” Rives, Zuraya Tapia-Hadley, and Kathleen Clark are vying for two open seats on the Arlington School Board. Tapia-Hadley and Clark have received endorsements from Arlington Democrats, while Rives has secured support from the Forward Party.
Weiss also identifies as a Democrat but does not have the backing of the Arlington County Democratic Committee.
Rives, Clark and Tapia-Hadley have each championed more resources to enhance student mental health, combat substance abuse and boost school performance.
Rives, Weiss and Clark also agree that teacher pay needs to be more competitive. However, Weiss wants to shake things up further by reducing central office space, reducing reliance on standardized testing and decreasing class sizes.
8th Congressional District
U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D) is once again running for Virginia’s 8th Congressional District this November in what would be his sixth consecutive term in office after being first elected to the House of Representatives in 2014.
Republican Jerry Torres, a military veteran and entrepreneur, is running his first campaign for public office in Virginia. He previously ran for Florida’s 14th Congressional District in 2022, where he lost in the Republican primary by nearly 24 percentage points. Torres plans prioritize issues such as affordable housing, crime and “controlling our borders,” per his campaign website.
(Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that this was Jerry Torres’ first campaign for public office. It is his first campaign for public office in Virginia. He previously ran for Florida’s 14th Congressional District.)
Torres and Beyer will face off in November against independent candidates David Kennedy and Bentley Hensel.
Kennedy, an Arlington resident and senior fellow at Washington-based think tank COGR, announced his plans to challenge Beyer in the general election in July. Kennedy’s policy objectives include fostering partnerships between schools and police to enhance student safety, increasing affordable housing options and supporting women’s reproductive rights.
Hensel, a data systems engineer for California-based IT firm CivicActions, has advocated for a unified federal education system, a centralized system for tracking and reporting immigration cases, real-time disclosure of campaign finance contributions and expenditures, and fair compensation for internet users affected by data breaches.
U.S. Senate
Republican Hung Cao is mounting a challenge against incumbent Sen. Tim Kaine. Chosen as Hillary Clinton’s running mate in her 2016 presidential bid, Kaine served as Virginia’s governor from 2006 to 2010 and was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2013.
Cao, a retired Navy Captain, ran against Wexton in the 2022 midterms, losing by nearly six percentage points.
Meet the candidates
Arlington Democrats announced that candidates up and down the ballot — including, Kaine, Beyer, Spain, Tapia-Hadley and Clark — are planning to meet at the Bozman Government Center Plaza, at 2100 Clarendon Blvd in Courthouse, with donuts and “Dem swag” on Friday morning.
Forward Party candidates Granger and Rives will also be present at the Bozman plaza on Friday from 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Arlington GOP has not made any formal plans but plans to have a presence at early voting locations on Friday, a spokesperson said.
Proposed constitutional amendment
In addition to candidates, voters will also decide whether to amend the Virginia Constitution to extend a real property tax exemption to the surviving spouses of soldiers who died in the line of duty.
Proposed Amendment – The proposed amendment would expand this current tax exemption so that it is available to all surviving spouses of soldiers who are determined by the U.S. Department of Defense to have died in the line of duty, including those who have been killed in action.
A “yes” vote would allow the surviving spouse of a soldier who died in the line of duty to claim the same real property tax exemption on their principal place of residence that is currently only available to the surviving spouses of soldiers who are killed in action.
A “no” vote will not allow such additional surviving spouses to claim the real property tax exemption.
2024 bond referenda
Voters will also have the opportunity to decide whether Arlington County should take on up to $272.6 million in long-term debt for capital projects and maintenance through a slate of bond referenda. Such bond questions usually get approved by voters by comfortable margins.
This year’s five bond proposals are below.
- $72.4 million for transportation projects like Metro enhancements and road improvements
- $25.8 million for the development and maintenance of parks and recreational trails
- $76.2 million for various community infrastructure projects, including safety and facilities upgrades
- $84 million for renovations and improvements in Arlington Public Schools
- $14.2 million for upgrades to water and sewer systems.
