The Democratic primary for one open Arlington County Board seat got off to a slow start today.
As of 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, only about 3.7% of Arlington registered voters had cast ballots in the Democratic race today. About 5.2% of the county voted early or by mail, according to the county’s election dashboard.
With the Arlington School Board caucus now underway, several Democratic candidates have released introduction videos.
Local Democrats have until May 11 to vote in this year’s caucus, determining which of the four candidates currently running for School Board will receive the party’s endorsement for two open seats.
President Joe Biden and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley won the majority of votes in Arlington in yesterday’s Virginia presidential primary.
However, the low voter turnout in both primaries might serve as a warning sign for both Biden and the now clear Republican frontrunner, former President Donald Trump, of a lack of voter enthusiasm.
On the eve of Super Tuesday, local party leaders, political consults and pundits on both sides of the aisle have already agreed on who the Republican and Democratic nominees for president will be.
One question lingering in the minds of many is whether the D.C. suburbs, including Arlington, can offer any indication of whether candidates are gaining or losing sufficient suburban voters to impact the general election.
With ranked-choice voting now the go-to method for local primaries in Arlington, the County Board is also considering using it for the November general election.
This Saturday, the Board plans to hold a public hearing to decide whether to use the voting method, also known as RCV, in the County Board election this fall to fill Chair Libby Garvey’s soon-to-be-vacant seat — the only one expected to be empty.
Ranked-choice voting could soon become the default for Arlington County Board primaries in Arlington.
This weekend, the County Board is set to approve the voting method, in which residents rank candidates in order of preference. If approved, next year — when one County Board seat is up for grabs — participants in the June primary will fight to secure a 51% threshold to secure a nomination.
(Updated at 11:15 p.m.) It is another good election night for Arlington Democrats.
While some might have hoped for a Missing Middle-inspired upset in the two-seat Arlington County Board race, Democrats Maureen Coffey and Susan Cunningham have commanding leads over Republican Juan Carlos Fierro and independent Audrey Clement.
Election Day got off to a busier-than-expected start this morning.
As of this morning, some 9,200 voters turned out to vote today, according to the Arlington County’s Dept. of Elections.
The end of the election is drawing nearer: early voting ends on Saturday and Tuesday is Election Day.
At this point, the roughly 12,000 early votes cast are almost evenly split between in-person and mailed-in ballots, per the Arlington County election turnout dashboard. Some 44,000 ballots need to be returned between now and the close of the polls on Tuesday to surpass turnout in 2019, the last similar election year.
Early voting is picking up speed in Arlington while Arlington County Board candidates focus on Missing Middle and taxes.
The general election on Nov. 7 is less than two weeks away and at this point, far more people are voting early in person this year compared to 2019, the last election year without gubernatorial or presidential races.
(Updated at 4:10 p.m) Early voting is underway and the election is five weeks out but, compared to other parts of Virginia, politicking in Arlington is still a little sleepy.
This year is an off-year, meaning there are no federal offices on the ballot to drum up turnout. Some call this year, like 2019 before it, an “off-off-year” because the ballot lacks statewide offices, such as governor, too.
(Updates at 7:25 p.m. on 7/18/23) Arlington County is not adopting ranked-choice voting for the general election this November.
When voters hit the polls or mail in their ballots this fall, they will pick two candidates just like they would in previous two-seat years. Those who get the largest plurality of votes — even if it doesn’t constitute a majority — will win a seat.
