Arlington’s never-ending campaign cycle saw both Democrats and Republicans gearing up for battle over the past few weeks.
The Arlington County Democratic Committee is “focused on winning, doing everything we can to ensure Democrats win,” party chair Paul Ruiz said at Democrats’ monthly meeting on Feb. 4.
Political campaign signs could soon be a thing of the past on Arlington medians.
County Board members in March are expected to consider a staff recommendation that would prohibit all signage — commercial, personal and political — on county-owned median strips and areas between sidewalks and roadways.
While questions around congressional redistricting will remain unresolved for months, campaigns for two seats that could represent Arlington are in full swing.
For now, all eyes are on an April 21 statewide referendum on whether to authorize dramatically redrawn districts for the U.S. House of Representatives. But that isn’t stopping candidates, political parties and officials in Arlington from launching into election season.
Arlington election officials have formally certified Del. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker’s overwhelming victory in the race to succeed State Sen. Adam Ebbin.
Across the entire district, the Bennett-Parker (D-39) won 83.4% of the vote in the Feb. 10 special election. In Arlington, she got 84.2% of the vote compared to 15.8% for Republican Julie Robben Lineberry, according to preliminary figures from the Virginia Department of Elections.
Newly proposed maps would split Arlington into two congressional districts as part of a statewide overhaul heavily favoring Virginia Democrats.
The proposal would keep a southern portion of Arlington in the 8th Congressional District, which currently encompasses all of the county and is represented by Rep. Don Beyer (D). This would extend as far south as York County in the Tidewater region.
Del. Alfonso Lopez (D-3) is proposing several pieces of legislation to place restrictions on federal immigration enforcement in Virginia, including at sensitive locations like schools and polling places.
One bill introduced by Lopez would prohibit federal immigration enforcement within 40 feet of polling places, as well as near local electoral board locations to certify or recount election results. Activities like loitering and handing political materials are already restricted within 40 feet of polling places, but immigration enforcement is not explicitly mentioned under current Virginia law.
Falls Church election officials are once again planning to try to persuade school leaders to close one or more of the city’s schools during major future elections.
They’re particularly focused on Oak Street Elementary School, which serves as a polling place for one of the city’s three voting wards. (The Falls Church Community Center is the polling location for Wards 2 and 3.)
Falls Church will be able to hold ranked-choice City Council elections as early as 2027, if current Council members want to make the switch.
The city is on track to acquire new voting equipment that would accommodate the ranked-choice format in time for the 2027 elections, city elections director David Bjerke told the Falls Church Electoral Board on Monday.
Renovations at a North Arlington community center have county election officials on the lookout for a new early-voting site in 2026.
Madison Community Center (3829 N. Stafford Street), which is closing in the spring for about a year of renovations, serves as a regular polling place on Election Day and one of two satellite centers open for early voting in the weeks leading up to elections.
Three incumbents and one newcomer on the Falls Church City Council ballot were elected yesterday (Tuesday), while the winner of the final seat on the School Board hangs in the balance.
Challenger Arthur Agin prevailed in the City Council race, as did incumbents Laura Downs, Marybeth Connelly and David Snyder. Agin will take the seat of Debora Schantz-Hiscott, who did not seek re-election, in January.
Takis Karantonis will get another term on the Arlington County Board.
The Democratic incumbent decisively defeated his divided competition in the County Board race, which was conducted via ranked choice voting.
Election offices in Arlington and Falls Church are on the lookout for any glitches with the U.S. Postal Service handling official election-related mail.
A relatively small number of ballots from the office of Falls Church registrar David Bjerke were mailed but had not yet reached residents who requested them, Bjerke reported at an Oct. 23 meeting of the Falls Church Electoral Board.
