Barring an appeal from one candidate who failed to qualify, Arlington’s County Board field for November is set at five.
County election officials have confirmed to ARLnow that a prospective sixth candidate narrowly missed meeting the 125-signature threshold for ballot access.
The candidate and his campaign team have the ability to appeal the decision, but barring that happening successfully, the field is set.
Democratic incumbent Takis Karantonis is being challenged by Republican Bob Cambridge and independents Audrey Clement, Jeramy Olmack and Carlos De Castro “DC” Pretelt.
Steve Baker, who chairs the Arlington County Democratic Committee, said the June 17 Democratic primary — in which Karantonis defeated James DeVita — helped to energize voters and get them ready for what is to come this fall.
“We’re ready to carry forward this momentum to take back the Governor’s mansion in November’s general election,” he told ARLnow.
In other election news:
In-person voting dominated in primary: Voting in person on Election Day continues to be the norm in Arlington primaries, even as voters move away from it in high-stakes general elections.
About 62% of county voters in the June 17 Democratic primary cast ballots at precincts on the day of the election, according to data reported at the June 21 Electoral Board meeting.
The remainder were cast either in advance or by mail.
Arlington County Democratic Committee chair Steve Baker said some Democratic voters were in no rush to make decisions this year, when nominating contests were held for lieutenant governor, attorney general, County Board and, in parts of Arlington, the 1st House of Delegates district.
“Democrats were fortunate to have an outstanding field of candidates in this primary, and voters took the time to weigh their options carefully,” he told ARLnow.
“We consistently heard that voters were deeply engaged and determined to choose candidates best suited to protect jobs in Virginia, defend our communities and stand up to [Donald] Trump’s reckless national agenda,” Baker said.
Having a majority of voters casting ballots on Election Day for the primary remains the norm in Arlington:
- In the June 2024 Democratic primary for County Board, the ratio was 55% in person on Election Day, 21% early voting and 24% by mail
- In the June 2024 Republican primary for U.S. Senate, Arlington turnout was 64% in person, 12% early voting and 24% by mail
- In the March 2024 Democratic presidential primary, turnout was 62% in person, 8% early voting and 30% by mail
- In the March 2024 Republican presidential primary, turnout was 86% in person, 8% early voting and 6% by mail
In the November 2024 general election, however, the ratio was 40% Election Day voting, 44% early voting and 16% by mail.
The larger percentage of early voting in that race likely was impacted by concerns of voters about long lines at voting precincts on Election Day during a presidential-election year.
In the November 2023 general election — the “off-off-year” election in Arlington with nothing but local and legislative races on the ballot — 68% of voters cast ballots in person on Election Day, with 17% voting early and 14% by mail.
Baker said it was less important what voting method voters used than that they had options available.
“All Arlingtonians deserve to have the opportunity to vote early, conveniently, and on their own terms,” he said.
Just beating the deadline: About 100 Arlington voters cut it close but managed to have their mail-in ballots counted for the June 17 Democratic primary.
State law requires that mail-in ballots be in the hands of election officials by noon on the Friday three days after an election. Approximately 120 ballots were received in the U.S. Postal Service delivery to the elections office that morning.
Approximately 20 of those ballots were deemed ineligible because they had a postmark of June 18, county elections director Gretchen Reinemeyer told ARLnow. State law requires mail ballots be postmarked on or before the date of the election to be counted.
Legislation by state Sen. Barbara Favola (D-40) earlier this year to move the deadline back to 5 p.m. on the Friday after an election passed both houses of the General Assembly but was vetoed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
Favola’s legislation was in response to a case several years ago, when the Postal Service mail delivery the Friday after the election came in the afternoon, requiring several hundred Arlington ballots to be invalidated.
Out-of-county ballots deposited in Arlington: Fairfax County election officials last week received a pair of presents from their counterparts in Arlington.
Two voters used Arlington’s early-voting dropboxes to submit ballots for Fairfax County elections in advance of the June 17 Democratic primary.
Arlington officials also received two ballots for Alexandria races mixed into dropbox submissions.
The situation does arise during most elections, Reinemeyer told ARLnow.
Out-of-jurisdiction ballots are collected by each election office and then hand-delivered or mailed to the appropriate jurisdiction, she said. So long as they arrive by the final deadline of Friday at noon after Election Day, they are counted.
Ballots deposited into Virginia voting dropboxes from out of state, however, are not forwarded. Last November, Arlington received ballots from approximately 30 states, Reinemeyer said.
