At least for the time being, a new executive order on election matters is unlikely to impact Arlington.
Virginia “already does” many of the things included in the executive order that President Donald Trump signed on March 25, county registrar Gretchen Reinemeyer said.
The Arlington County Board approved funding for a pair of big-ticket infrastructure projects on Saturday.
Officials accepted a $20.7 million grant from the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation, advancing plans for a second entrance to the Crystal City Metro station. They also awarded a contract of $9.6 million to rebuild the Arlington Ridge Road bridge over Four Mile Run.
Arlington Democrats are moving back onto offense while the county’s GOP continues its work to build a candidate slate for November.
A monthly meeting of the Arlington County Democratic Committee last Wednesday attracted at least 100 people to Dr. Charles Drew Elementary School.
Proposals to build more housing in Green Valley and a new restaurant and gas station in Claremont are slated for County Board consideration this weekend.
Potential sidewalk improvements to S. Carlin Springs Road and a reduction in the number of early voting sites are also on the agenda for the Saturday meeting.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) has vetoed legislation that would have allowed Arlington County to change the structure of its government for the first time in 93 years.
Del. Patrick Hope (D-Arlington), who sponsored the bill, has vowed to continue fighting for the change that passed both chambers of the General Assembly. Locally, the legislation has the backing of the Arlington County Civic Federation but lacks support from the Arlington County Board.
The hunt is on for the next generation of Arlington voting equipment. When voters will be able to use it, though, is an open-ended question.
The three members of the Arlington Electoral Board will start the procurement process by meeting with prospective vendors at the annual gathering of the Virginia Electoral Boards Association, to be held March 23-25 at The Homestead.
Falls Church officials appear willing to hold off, for now, on moving City Council elections to a ranked-choice format.
“It might be better to wait,” city elections director David Bjerke said at a Monday Falls Church Electoral Board meeting.
Ranked-choice voting, a climate resolution, the contentious Melwood development proposal and the draft Fiscal Year 2026 county budget are all on the agenda for a County Board meeting slated for Saturday (Feb. 22).
Among the highlights:
The Arlington Electoral Board believes three, rather than four, early-voting locations should be fine for June’s primary election.
Board members voted 3-0 Tuesday (Feb. 4) to ask County Board members to consider removing Long Bridge Aquatics & Fitness Center from the list of early-voting sites for the primary.
Arlington public opinion continues to be divided on the future of ranked-choice voting.
By one measure, that split is nearly right down the middle.
Changes to Arlington voting equipment could increase the number of candidates voters are able to rank.
Arlington voters are currently able to rank only three candidates when participating in ranked-choice voting. However, planned upgrades to voting systems would raise that number to at least five.
The future of ranked-choice voting in Arlington’s general elections remains undecided as officials await a report on public attitudes.
The Arlington County Board expects to receive said report at a Tuesday, Jan. 28 meeting. The results “will give us a lot to think about,” Board Chair Takis Karantonis, who has seen some of the data, said at an Arlington County Civic Federation meeting last week.
