A local youth recently reminded Fairfax County supervisors they still have time to turn their elections next year into ranked-choice voting events.
“It is a very realistic goal,” said John Tashkhanov, speaking at the monthly public comment session at the tail end of the Sept. 29 Board of Supervisors meeting.
Members of Northern Virginia’s Democratic congressional delegation convened at the Fairfax County Government Center last Thursday (Oct. 1) for a forum to address concerns about the upcoming November elections.
The “shadow hearing” called by House Democrats, who lack the legal power to subpoena or control formal hearings due to the party’s minority status in the chamber, was led by Rep. Joe Morelle (D-New York), a ranking member of the Committee on House Administration, and Fairfax County’s own Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-Va.).
As opposition to data centers continues to mount nationwide, some unexpected alliances have emerged.
Just two days after democratic socialist Bernie Sanders shared a stage with right-wing strategist Steve Bannon, a grassroots conservative organization led by the self-proclaimed “founder of the modern day Tea Party” will stop in solidly blue Fairfax County as part of a national “Data Center Revolt” bus tour.
The Virginia Supreme Court’s nullification on Friday (May 8) of the redistricting referendum narrowly approved by voters last month left local and state-level Democrats reeling.
The Fairfax County Democratic Committee blasted the ruling as “a stunning betrayal” of the majority of Virginia voters — including nearly 70% of Fairfax County voters — who backed the proposed constitutional amendment, which would’ve let the General Assembly implement new Congressional districts drawn to favor Democrats in 10 out of 11 seats.
By DAVID A. LIEB and GEOFF MULVIHILL Associated Press
The Virginia Supreme Court on Friday struck down a voter-approved Democratic congressional redistricting plan, delivering another major setback to the party in a nationwide battle against Republicans for an edge in this year’s midterm elections.
The Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office isn’t backing down on its policy guidance for cases involving undocumented immigrants as defendants.
A day after the U.S. Department of Justice announced it’s investigating the policy for potential civil rights violations, a spokesperson for the prosecutors’ office criticized the probe as “the latest example of the Trump Administration’s own ‘pattern or practice’ of misusing the Justice Department to launch partisan attacks.”
By GARY D. ROBERTSON and DAVID A. LIEB Associated Press
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia Supreme Court judges on Monday questioned whether the state’s Democratic-led legislature complied with constitutional requirements when it sent a congressional redistricting plan to voters, in a case that carries high stakes for the balance of power in the U.S. House.
Fairfax County is poised to be split up into five Congressional districts after Virginia voters narrowly passed a constitutional amendment yesterday (Tuesday) that will let the General Assembly adopt a new map outside the standard once-a-decade redistricting cycle.
Statewide, it was a tight race, with about 51.5% of voters backing the referendum and 48.4% opposing it — a difference of approximately 97,600 votes out of the more than 3.1 million ballots cast, according to preliminary results from the Virginia Department of Elections.
Virginia voters appear to have approved a constitutional amendment to allow a one-time, mid-decade redistricting effort in today’s tightly contested special election.
While opponents initially led based on early voting, ballots reported later in the evening by Fairfax County and other heavily Democratic jurisdictions in Northern Virginia tipped the scales in favor of supporters, according to preliminary results reported by the Virginia Department of Elections.
Even before Virginia voters decide on a new congressional map, Democrats are piling in to run for districts proposed under a redistricting plan that is designed to give their party a near sweep of the state’s U.S. House seats.
The latest entrant is Olivia Troye, who was an aide to former Republican Vice President Mike Pence and has become a vocal critic of President Donald Trump. She announced today (Tuesday) that she’ll run in Virginia’s newly created 7th Congressional District — one of five that would include Fairfax County — joining an already crowded field.
