Voting in the Democratic and Republican primaries is underway in Arlington today (Tuesday).
About 1.1% of voters had cast ballots in person as of 9 a.m., according to the Arlington Elections Office.
In addition, 5.2% of registered Arlington voters cast ballots early in the Democratic primary, and 0.4% voted early in the Republican primary, according to the Virginia Public Access Project (VPAP).
In the Democratic race, U.S. Rep. Don Beyer is facing four challengers — Lorena Bruner, Michael Duffin, Adam Dunigan and Mo Seifeldein — while County Board Chair Matt de Ferranti is contending with challengers Julie Farnam and James DeVita.
Republicans, meanwhile, have only a single race on their ballot: the Republican Senate primary. Bert Mizusawa, Kim Farington and David Williams are all vying for the chance to take on Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Warner in November.
Virginia primaries typically are held in mid-June, but they were pushed back this year to accommodate congressional redistricting. While redistricting was approved by voters in an April referendum, it was later invalidated on procedural grounds by the Virginia Supreme Court.
Low voter turnout in primaries is common, particularly when incumbents are on the ballot.
In 2024, the last time Beyer sought reelection, slightly fewer voters cast Democratic ballots early in Arlington: 9,042 compared to 9,652 this year, according to VPAP. An empty seat on the County Board was also up for grabs that year.
Polling places in all of Arlington’s 54 precincts will remain open until 7 p.m. today.
