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As early voting starts tomorrow, here’s what on the ballot in Fairfax County

By Jared Serre
Abigail Spanberger and Winsome Earle-Sears (photos via campaigns)

Starting tomorrow, Fairfax County voters will again head to the polls.

The nearly seven-week early voting period begins Friday, allowing voters to cast ballots ahead of Nov. 4’s Election Day.

Across Fairfax County, residents will be able to access a variety of locations in order to vote.

Between now and Election Day, residents can vote at three different locations: the Fairfax County Government Center, the North County Governmental Center and the Mount Vernon Governmental Center.

Starting Oct. 23, that slate of locations will expand to include 13 more locations across the county.

But what’s on the ballot? Here’s a look at what voters will consider this year.

Governor

Incumbent lieutenant governor Winsome Earle-Sears, the Republican, is facing off against Democratic former Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger.

Though both candidates have focused on improving affordability for all Virginians, that’s one of the only subjects the two agree on.

One of Earle-Sears’ highest priorities is being tough on crime, with an emphasis placed on deporting those residing in the U.S. illegally, in addition to protecting women-only spaces — like in sports — and prioritizing parent’s rights in their child’s education.

Across the aisle, Spanberger’s highly-detailed platform includes plans to raise the minimum wage, crack down on irresponsible gun use and “address longstanding gaps in state support to schools,” among others.

Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General

Two other elections for statewide offices will be held.

The lieutenant governor’s race pairs Republican radio host John Reid against state Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, who currently represents parts of Richmond City and Chesterfield County.

Perhaps the biggest item at stake in the race is the role of tiebreaker in the Virginia Senate, which Democrats control by a narrow 21-19 margin.

In the attorney general’s race, incumbent Jason Miyares is seeking a second term against Jay Jones, a former delegate from the Norfolk area.

House of Delegates

With parts of 15 House of Delegates districts in Fairfax County, local voters will have a wide variety of candidates to keep in mind at the polls.

Those include:

Fairfax County’s House of Delegates districts (photo via Fairfax County)

No elections for the Virginia Senate will be held this year.

Public schools bond

Voters will weigh in on whether or not to allow the county to “contract a debt, borrow money, and issue capital improvement bonds in the maximum aggregate principal amount of $460,000,000.”

If approved, these funds would be for “the costs of school improvements,” including any potential renovation or expansion to existing school buildings. As of June, the school district had banked $428 million for such purposes.

But this year, there’s a new wrinkle: the Fairfax County School Board OK’d the purchase of a former private school in Herndon earlier this year.

“[The western high school] would consume all of the money for two years,” school board member Mateo Dunne told FFXnow in June..“It would mean that there would be nothing else accomplished in that time frame in terms of renovation, and that’s just not something that’s conscionable.”

About the Author

  • Jared Serre covers local business, public safety and breaking news across Local News Now's websites. Originally from Northeast Ohio, he is a graduate of West Virginia University. He previously worked with Law360 before joining LNN in May 2024.