Falls Church election officials are getting ready for the start of early voting on Friday and the general election in November.
At a meeting last week, leaders provided updates on plans to send mail-in ballots, select election officers and ensure that voting equipment is good to go.
Selecting officers of election: Falls Church will need approximately 27 officers of election to conduct the upcoming general election.
The city’s plans call for seven election officers, led by an election chief, to staff each of the three voting wards: two at the Falls Church Community Center and the third at Oak Street Elementary School.
An additional six officers of election will be used for central absentee voting at the Falls Church City Hall.
Electoral Board members will select election officers from the pool of those previously approved for service. Those on the list will be contacted by the end of September to see if they can work, with responses requested by mid-October.
Final staffing decisions will be made around Oct. 22, Electoral Board members determined at their Sept. 11 meeting.
The number of polling places in a locality generally depends on the number of registered voters. Elsewhere in Northern Virginia, Fairfax County has 266 precincts, Loudoun has 107, Prince William has 93, Arlington has 54, Alexandria has 32 and the City of Fairfax has six.
On the Nov. 4 ballot in Falls Church will be four City Council and four School Board seats, along with a House of Delegates seat and the constitutional offices of sheriff, commissioner of revenue and treasurer. In addition, Falls Church voters will join those across Virginia in casting ballots for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general.
Electoral Board members also appointed three new officers of election and struck a number from the list of those eligible.
Ballots set to be mailed: Falls Church election officials are working to have mail ballots in the hands of voters who requested them in time for the start of early voting on Friday, Sept. 19.
Staff and Electoral Board members on Sept. 11 began hand-collating voting materials that will be mailed to voters. They will be kept in a secure facility until city Elections Director David Bjerke personally delivers them to the Falls Church Post Office.
That is likely to happen on Sept. 15 or 16.
The city is expecting to mail out about 1,000 early-voting ballots. An additional 230 will be delivered to military voters, many of those going by email.
Equipment ready to go: Falls Church Electoral Board members have certified the city’s voting equipment is ready for the start of the general election.
“All equipment was tested and found to be working. They’re fine,” Electoral Board secretary Renee Bergmann Andrews said at the body’s Sept. 11 meeting.
In addition, Electoral Board members certified that the city’s polling places comply with federal Americans with Disabilities Act standards.
Falls Church voters will cast ballots in three locations — City Hall for early voting (beginning Sept. 19) and Oak Street Elementary School and the Falls Church Community Center on Nov. 4.
“Nothing has changed at these buildings” related to accessibility since the last election, city elections director David Bjerke said.
Voters eager to cast ballots: In-person early vote begins across the commonwealth on Friday, Sept. 19. But that hasn’t stopped some prospective voters from trying to beat the rush.
“We had someone come in to try and vote today,” Falls Church Electoral Board secretary Renee Bergmann Andrews said at the body’s Sept. 11 meeting.
“Several people,” added director of elections David Bjerke.
Candidate forum on the horizon
The Falls Church League of Women Voters and Village Preservation and Improvement Society will host a forum for local candidates on Thursday, Sept. 25 at 7 p.m. at American Legion Post 130, 400 N. Oak Street.
Candidates for local office will answer questions both from moderators and the public.
In addition, the League of Women Voters will distribute its annual candidate guide at Mary Riley Styles Library, in the Falls Church News-Press and at the polls. In addition, the guide will be available online.
‘Disability Voting Rights Week’ proclaimed
At its Sept. 8 meeting, the Falls Church City Council designated Sept. 9-13 as “Disability Voting Rights Week” in the city.
The resolution also salutes the efforts of the advocacy group REV UP (“Register! Educate! Vote! Use Your Power!”) in supporting the rights of the approximately 38 million Americans with disabilities who are eligible to vote.
Efforts across Virginia to lower voting hurdles for those with disabilities appear to be working. In 2018, there was an 11% gap statewide in voting rates between those with disabilities and the overall electorate; in 2022, that gap had all but disappeared, according to advocates.
