voting

Voter Registration Deadlines Approaching

By Katie Pyzyk

With a slew of elections in the upcoming months, now is the time to check if you’re registered to vote. Registration deadlines are fast approaching for Arlington residents.

Arlington County Registrar Linda Lindberg explained that registration deadlines are 21 days before all primaries and general elections, but 13 days before special elections. That means anyone who wishes to vote in the Republican Presidential Primary on March 6 must be registered by Monday, February 13. The deadline is Monday, March 12 for those who want to register to vote in the special election for Arlington County Board on March 27.

Voters who have previously registered in Virginia and have not changed addresses do not have to re-register. Anyone who has moved since last voting must update their information. Voters may not register at the polls.

Lindberg wants people to remember that everyone is eligible to vote in the Republican Presidential Primary because Virginians do not register by party. Absentee voting for that primary has already begun, and absentee voting for the County Board special election begins February 10.

“Voters can conceivably come in and vote in the two elections on the same day,” Lindberg said.

More information on registering to vote, including an application, is available online, along with lists of all upcoming elections and sample ballots for March 6 and March 27.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

The Curious Grape to Reopen — There will soon be two competing boutique wine and cheese stores in Shirlington. The Curious Grape, which moved out of its storefront in Shirlington Village earlier this year in order to make way for Cheesetique, just announced that it will be reopening next month in a larger storefront one block away. [Shirlington Village Blog]

Loyalty Oath for Va. GOP Primary — Voters who want to cast their ballot in the March 6 presidential primary in Virginia will be required to sign a loyalty oath. The Virginia Republican Party requested the pledge — which is perfectly legal under Virginia law — as a condition of participation in the primary. The pledge (of support for the eventual Republican presidential nominee) is intended to reduce the number of non-Republicans voting in the otherwise open primary. [Richmond Times-Dispatch]

Earthquake Still Affecting Local Theater Troupes — The temporary closure of the Thomas Jefferson Community Theater due to earthquake damage is still having repercussions in the local arts community. As a result of the closure, a planned Spring 2012 production of Cats has been postponed until 2013. Also, the county’s annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. tribute has been moved to Washington-Lee High School. [Sun Gazette]

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Extended Mall Hours for Black Friday — Arlington’s two biggest shopping malls will be open earlier than usual for the traditional post-Thanksgiving shop-a-thon known as Black Friday. Ballston Common Mall will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., while Pentagon City mall will be open from 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.

Eminent Domain Change Proposed — A proposed amendment to the Virginia Constitution would make it harder for localities to seize private property under eminent domain laws. The amendment, which has the support of some General Assembly Republicans, is being proposed at a time when Arlington is threatening to use eminent domain to purchase an office building in Courthouse. [Washington Times]

Romeo and Juliet in Crystal City — Synetic Theater’s dialogue-less production of Romeo and Juliet premieres today in Crystal City. The physical theater company’s interpretation of Shakespeare’s classic tragic love story runs through Dec. 23. [Synetic Theater]

‘Arlington Rap’ Guy Gets Write-In Votes — ‘Arlington Rap’ artist Remy Munasifi was among the recipients of write-in votes in this month’s County Board election. Munasifi received four out of the more than 1,000 write-in votes cast. A host of local and national politicians — George W. Bush, Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton among them — were also written-in for the Board race. Write-in votes for commonwealth’s attorney, meanwhile, included rapper Lil Wayne, Cuban dictator Fidel Castro and Capitals star Alex Ovechkin. [Sun Gazette]

Yorktown to Play for Regional Championship Today — The undefeated Yorktown Patriots football team will face the South County Stallions at 1:30 p.m. today for the Northern Region Championship. The victor will win the right to advance to the state football playoffs. The game is being played at Yorktown High School stadium (2700 N. Greenbrier Street).

Election Turnout Light, Officials Say

By ARLnow.com

With about three more hours left to vote in today’s general election, officials are predicting a low but slightly improved turnout.

Arlington County Registrar Linda Lindberg says she’s expecting a roughly 30 percent active voter turnout rate by the time polls close at 7:00 p.m. That would be only slightly higher than the past two comparable off-year elections: 26 percent turnout in 2007 and 29 percent turnout in 2003.

“It’s been pretty slow,” Lindberg said over the phone this afternoon. “It’s an improvement over 2007, but… it’s pretty average.”

Absentee voting was significantly higher than usual this year, however. There have been about 2,200 absentee ballots received so far, compared to 1,360 total received in 2007.

Unofficial election statistician and Arlington County Treasurer Frank O’Leary predicted last night that today’s active voter turnout would be about 43,450, or just over 32 percent.

Absentee Voting on Pace to Break Records

By Katie Pyzyk

(Updated at 11:10 a.m.) Absentee voting for Tuesday’s election has been higher than expected, and is on pace to exceed the numbers from previous off-year elections.

So far, 1,227 votes have been counted, with 1,186 of those being from domestic absentee voters. At this same time in 2007, only 913 domestic absentee ballots had been cast. Arlington County Treasurer Frank O’Leary predicts that by election day, 1,827 absentee ballots will have been cast. That would be a record number, and would likely mean a record number of overall voters.

O’Leary says absentee votes have been disproportionately high from voters in the 31st Senate District, with the heated race between Democrat Barbara Favola and Republican Caren Merrick. It has provided more than 64% of the absentee votes so far.

In-person absentee voting continues through tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. at the Arlington County administrative building in Courthouse (2100 Clarendon Blvd., Suite 320).

Absentee Voting Going on Now

By Katie Pyzyk

In-person absentee voting for the election on Tuesday, Nov. 8, is going on now and runs through next Saturday, Nov. 5.

Meanwhile, the deadline to request a mailed absentee ballot is fast approaching. All requests for an absentee ballot have to be submitted by 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 1. In order to be counted, the completed ballots have to be received by 7:00 p.m. on election day.

Below is the schedule for in-person absentee voting at the Arlington County Courthouse (2100 Clarendon Blvd., Suite 320):

 

  • Friday, Oct. 28, 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
  • Saturday, Oct. 29, 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
  • Monday, Oct. 31-Wednesday Nov. 2, 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
  • Thursday, Nov. 3, 8:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m.
  • Friday, Nov. 4, 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
  • Saturday, Nov. 5, 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

Election Goes on Despite Earthquake

By ARLnow.com

Voting in Arlington is proceeding as normal, despite today’s earthquake.

All voting centers are open, according to county elections officials, but voting has been moved outside at the George Mason University voting center due to the university’s decision to close all of its buildings. Some voting centers were briefly evacuated after the quake, but polls will close at 7:00 p.m. as scheduled.

“We should be fine… there have been no reports of any issues at all,” said Arlington County Registrar Linda Lindberg. She noted that the only people calling to ask about keeping the polls open later have been the candidates themselves.

Lindberg said overall turnout is still estimated to be about 7 to 10 percent of active registered voters.

“Turnout is about what we’ve expected so far,” she said.

According to Lindberg, turnout is expected to be higher in the 31st state Senate District, the battleground of a contentious Democratic primary.

Computer Glitch Blamed for Erroneous Voter Registration Cards

By ARLnow.com

Arlington County is mailing new voter registration cards to as many as 10,000 voters who may have previously received cards with incorrect polling place information.

Arlington County Registrar Linda Lindberg said the erroneous cards were sent to voters in 3-4 precincts before county employees realized the mistakes, which included outdated precinct information (as a result of this year’s redistricting process) and incorrect polling place addresses. The mistakes were the result of a computer that was improperly programmed, Lindberg said.

Voters receiving a second mailing will get a new voter registration card and a letter explaining the errors. Adding to the confusion is the fact that many of the initially-mailed voter registration cards actually contained no incorrect information. An unknown number of the first batch of mailings did contain errors, however, so the entire batch is being sent again.

The problems arose as the county took its voter registration card mailings in-house. Lindberg noted that a contractor had been used to send the mailings in previous years. This year, to save money, the county took advantage of new mailroom and printing equipment to send the voter registration cards without outside help. In the end, she estimates, the cost to taxpayers will be about the same as previous years, despite the errors.

Lindberg said that the problems did not significantly delay the mailings.

“Everybody should have new cards by the end of next week, and that’s still ample time before the [Aug. 23] primary,” she said, adding that “most people will only get one card.”

Hat tip to Ian L.

Keira Moran Needs Your Vote

By ARLnow.com

Rep. Jim Moran isn’t the only member of the Moran family who’s courting your vote. Keira Moran, the congressman’s granddaughter, needs your help to win an national songwriting contest.

Keira’s song “When I’m With You” is one of two finalists in an online competition on SmashTune.com. The 16-year-old T.C. Williams (Alexandria) High School student is neck-and-neck against her fellow finalist, 22-year-old Californian Lucia Sosa. Voting closes today at 2:00 p.m.

Rep. Moran has been campaigning for Keira and posting words of encouragement on the contest page.

“You’re an amazing talent Keira,” he wrote, via Facebook. “I’m so proud of you – not just because of your songwriting and other artistic gifts, but even more so because of what a truly good and kind person you are. I’m one lucky Grandpa!”

In addition to playing the piano, Keira is also the first chair cello in the T.C. Williams orchestra. See her perform other self-written songs here.

We’re turning off the comments to prevent the inevitable creep of politics into a basically non-political story.

Winner of County Vehicle Decal Contest Announced

By ARLnow.com

Arlington has a winner in its 2011-2012 vehicle decal contest.

Out of the four design finalists, Wakefield High School student Maya Giacobbe was named the winner for her design, “Hume, Sweet Hume.”

Giacobbe said she chose to design a decal featuring Arlington’s Hume School — the present-day home of the Arlington Historical Society — because “it was one of the first schools in Arlington.”

“I see it every day,” she added.

Nearly 2,700 votes were cast online and by mail between Jan. 12 and Feb. 13. Giacobbe’s design received 906 votes, a plurality.

The tradition of choosing the design via contest open to Arlington high school students began in 2005. Arlington has required some form of a vehicle license or decal since 1949.

The winning design was announced at this afternoon’s county board meeting. Each finalist will receive a $500 savings bond from Wachovia. The winning design, meanwhile, will appear on more than 155,000 vehicles.

“Vincent van Gogh, in his lifetime, did not achieve such an honor,” noted Arlington County Treasurer Frank O’Leary.

Voting Begins for Vehicle Decal Design Contest

By ARLnow.com

It’s that time of year, again.

Voting has just begun for the county’s 2011-2012 vehicle decal design competition.

Arlington residents will be able to vote for one of four designs selected for the competition. Each design was created by an Arlington high school student.

Voting will take place online between now and Feb. 13. The winner will be announced at February’s county board meeting.

Last year’s winning design showcased a snow-covered bridge over the W&OD Trail. This year, the design finalists include another snowy photo, a photo of the historic Hume School, a photo of the large clock near Courthouse Plaza, and an illustration featuring a bike path and the Rosslyn skyline.

View More Stories