voting

No Surprises, Little Drama in Arlington’s Local Races

By Jo DeVoe

(Updated at 4:15 p.m.) Arlington County Democrats enjoyed a clean sweep in their bids for County Board and School Board, with clear results in early on Tuesday night.

County Board Chair Libby Garvey (D) was awarded four more years in office, garnering 72% of votes. Cristina Diaz-Torres and David Priddy — endorsed by the local Democratic party in the nonpartisan School Board race — earned 43% and 36%, respectively.

NAACP Education Committee Co-Chair Symone Walker and frequent local candidate Audrey Clement had unsuccessful independent bids for the School Board and County Board, respectively. Clement garnered 29,923 27% of votes, while Walker received 19% in the three-way School Board race for two open seats.

More than 75% of active voters had cast ballots by 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, including a record-setting 63% who voted early and by mail by Sunday. Since mail-in ballots have until Friday to arrive, the county elections office will not have a final turnout number until then, Arlington Director of Election Gretchen Reinemeyer said in an email.

Local Democrats said they are pleased with the local turnout, hailing a “decisive” vote for the entire Democratic ticket, even as they anxiously watched developments in the still-undecided presidential race.

Garvey said today that she will continue focusing on equity, innovation and resilience during the pandemic during her next term.

“People are tired of the virus,” she said. “This is a difficult time and I hope we can remember to treat each other kindly. We’re all under stress and doing our best. It’s important to take a deep breath and continue to stay together as a community as we work through a lot of difficult issues.”

“Arlingtonians are smart and informed,” Garvey added. “It’s an honor and a privilege to serve Arlington for four more years.”

Turning to the question of reopening Arlington Public Schools classrooms for in-person instruction — which is now delayed until next year for most students — Diaz-Torres and Priddy said today that any plan must focus on safety metrics.

“We need to be careful and make sure we’re proceeding with caution, making sure we’re following the science, not the emotions of the day,” Diaz-Torres said.

With cases rising, APS needs to focus on keeping the kids with severe needs — who returned to schools today — safe, while making virtual learning as high quality as possible for others, she said.

As a School Board member, Priddy said he will be talking with other public school systems and even private schools to see what APS can learn from them.

In an email Wednesday morning, Arlington Democrats Chair Jill Caiazzo thanked the candidates who ran for office in Arlington and congratulated the winners on their “resounding and well-deserved victories.”

“We know that they will work hard on behalf of all Arlingtonians and lead our county and country through these challenging times,” she wrote.

On social media this morning, County Board member Katie Cristol thanked election volunteers for their hard work, and Arlington voters for overwhelmingly approving the five local bonds on the ballot. Cristol also welcomed Priddy and Diaz-Torres to the School Board and thanked Walker for her advocacy

Walker, who dropped out of the Democratic endorsement caucus after her federal employment raised Hatch Act questions, said her defeat was unsurprising but she does not count it as a failure.

“I think I accomplished change by changing the narrative of the School Board race to focus on curriculum and instruction, particularly equity through literacy,” she said.

Walker was less conciliatory in tone last night, writing in a Facebook post that her defeat was attributable to the power of the Democratic endorsement.

It’s unfortunate that a majority of “low information” voters who are oblivious to the serious plight being faced by our schools are electing the school board by blindly voting straight down the ACDC sample ballot, which, ironically, was silent about the education of our students in listing why this is the most important election of our lifetime. Nevertheless, I pray that Cristina and David will rise to the challenge of turning this ship around to put our students first amidst having to live with COVID-19 for the foreseeable future

Nonetheless, Walker told ARLnow this morning that she and her small team — nearly all APS moms — ran a grassroots, issues-focused campaign to be proud of.

“I ran for the School Board because I thought I had the opportunity to push for change on the inside,” she said. “Since that did not work, I’m going to continue pushing APS from outside.”

Clement said her results follow the nationwide trend in polarization: Democrat-leaning counties are becoming more blue, and Republican-leaning counties more red.

(more…)

UPDATED: Biden, Dems Win Big in Arlington

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 7:30 a.m.) To no one’s surprise, the Arlington electorate has turned out in a big way for the Democratic ticket.

Former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris have 80.7% of the vote to 17.1% for President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence in Arlington, with more than 120,000 votes counted and all precincts reporting.

By contrast, 75.8% of Arlington voters picked Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election, to 16.6% for Trump.

The Associated Press called Virginia for Biden just over half an hour after polls closed at 7 p.m.

As of 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, overall turnout in Arlington County was over 75%. The voter turnout in 2016 was 82%, shy of the Arlington record of 85% in the 2012 presidential race between President Barack Obama and current Senator Mitt Romney.

Among local races, Arlington County Board Chair Libby Garvey (D) is cruising to an easy victory, with 71.6% of the vote, compared to 26.6% of the vote for independent challenger Audrey Clement.

In the Arlington School Board race — for two open seats — Democratic endorsees Cristina Diaz-Torres and David Priddy currently have 43.1% and 35.8% of the vote, respectively, leading independent candidate Symone Walker, who has 19.2% of the vote.

All five county bond issues will pass, with between 75-80% of the vote. That’s despite some organized opposition to the school bond.

Arlington voted against Constitutional Amendment #1, to establish a bipartisan redistricting commission in Virginia — 45% for, 55% against — though it has garnered the support of nearly two-thirds of voters statewide. Constitutional Amendment #2, providing vehicle tax relief to disabled veterans, easily passed statewide and received 81.5% of the vote in Arlington.

In the statewide race for U.S. Senate, incumbent Sen. Mark Warner (D) was declared the projected winner by the Associated Press early on.

In Virginia’s 8th Congressional district, which includes Arlington and Alexandria, incumbent Rep. Don Beyer (D) is winning handily, with 75.6% of the vote to 24.2% for Republican Jeff Jordan. The AP called the race at 8:10 p.m.

The initial returns that included early and mail-in votes were overwhelming Democratic, but with Election Day results rolling in the non-Democratic candidates have added to their totals and cut into the Democrats’ margin of victory.

Around Arlington, the pandemic has most people watching election coverage from their homes, rather than from bars. In Clarendon and Shirlington tonight, only a relative few could be seen in front of TVs inside the neighborhood’s usual watering holes.

As the election returns continue to come in, Arlington County Board member Katie Cristol said tonight that the county is “committed to ensuring every vote is counted.”

UPDATED: ‘Quiet’ Election Day So Far in Arlington

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 6:30 p.m.) It’s been a relatively quiet day at the polls in Arlington for one of the most contentious presidential elections in modern memory.

As of 4:30 p.m., only 13% of active voters had showed up at the polls. But that’s in addition to the 63% that had already voted via early voting or mail-in ballots as of Sunday.

“Things have run pretty smoothly throughout the day,” Arlington County Director of Election Gretchen Reinemeyer told ARLnow this afternoon. “It’s been pretty quiet for a presidential [election].”

As of 1 p.m., no more than 500 voters had cast ballots at any one Arlington precinct, Reinemeyer said. No issues have been reported at the polls so far, she added, though there have been numerous provisional ballots requested — likely a result of those who requested mail-in ballots deciding to vote in-person instead.

As for what to expect tonight, Reinemeyer said the bulk of the results should be released early on, after the polls close. Some 100,000 early votes that had been counted by Sunday should be tabulated and on the state election website shortly after 7 p.m.

Voting Underway in Arlington County

By ARLnow.com

It’s Election Day and across Arlington County thousands are voting at dozens of polling places staffed by hundreds of volunteers.

So far no issues have been reported at the polls, election officials tell ARLnow.

Turnout may be lighter than usual for a hotly-contested presidential election, on account of 63% of active voters in Arlington having already cast early and mail-in ballots. As of 9:30 a.m., the county elections office said that “an estimated 5% of remaining voters” had voted since the polls opened at 6 a.m.

“Polling places were busy early, but most are running smoothly now,” the elections office said.

On the ballot in Arlington this year is the presidential race — President Donald Trump (R) facing off against former Vice President Joe Biden (D), plus Libertarian candidate Jo Jorgensen — along with races for U.S. Senate, House of Representatives, County Board and School Board. There are also referenda for two proposed state constitutional amendments and five county bond issuances.

Polls will stay open tonight until 7 p.m.

More via Twitter:

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Polls Are Open — After a record-setting run-up to the 2020 presidential election, it’s Election Day and polls are now open. Polling places in Arlington are open until 7 p.m. County government is closed today so metered parking will not be enforced. There are two local races: Audrey Clement (I) challenging incumbent Libby Garvey (D) for Arlington County Board, and Cristina Diaz-Torres, David Priddy and Symone Walker vying for two open Schools Board seats. [Arlington County]

Other Races on the Ballot — Two of Arlington’s members of Congress — Democrats Rep. Don Beyer and Sen. Mark Warner — are facing Republican challengers: Jeff Jordan and, in the Senate race, Daniel Gade. Both Jordan and Gade are retired Army officers. Also on the ballot are a pair of proposed changes to the Virginia constitution, and five county bond referenda, including one facing some organized opposition. [Arlington County]

Changes to Potomac Yard Development — “Six months after pivoting from office to residential, ZMA Development is aiming to go slightly smaller at Potomac Yard. The latest plans filed with Arlington County have reduced the number of residential units from 620 to 488 units planned at the Landbay C-East site at Potomac Avenue between 29th and 33rd Streets S (map). The two-phase development, now dubbed Hazel National Landing, also has added a 50 foot-wide ‘pedestrian passageway.'” [UrbanTurf]

Marymount Adding Softball — “Dr. Irma Becerra, President of Marymount University, has announced the addition of softball as a varsity sport, with competition set to begin during the Spring 2022 semester.” [Press Release]

New Public Access TV Series — “Months after their senior year in high school did a 180 degree turn from what they envisioned nearly a year ago for senior year rites, a group of students from Arlington launched the Gen Z Diaries: Senior Edition.” [Press Release]

Nearby: A Woke Retirement Home — Residents of the Goodwin House senior living community in Bailey’s Crossroads, home to a number of former Arlingtonians who were engaged in civic activism, have been busy getting out the vote and supporting the Black Lives Matter movement during the pandemic. [Washingtonian]

Nearly 63% of Active Voters in Arlington Have Already Cast Ballots

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 3:50 p.m.) Almost two-thirds of active voters in Arlington have already voted.

That’s according to the latest totals released by Arlington County’s elections office, following the end of in-person early voting on Saturday.

As of Sunday, 104,988 votes had been cast in Arlington, according to the county: 45,108 via mail and 59,880 via in-person early voting. That represents about 63% of active voters, far exceeding the record-breaking, pre-Election Day turnout of the 2016 presidential election, during which 26,947 voted in-person early and about 10,000 cast mail-in ballots.

Although in-person early voting and supervised ballot drop-off has ended, those who still have outstanding mail-in ballots — nearly 6,000 residents, according to the county — can either place them in one of the Arlington’s 24-hour ballot drop boxes or drop them off at a local polling place on Election Day.

Polling places will be open from 6 a.m.-7 p.m. on Tuesday. All voters are being encouraged to wear a face covering.

To make sure things go smoothly at the polls, Arlington says it is deploying extra police patrols.

“The County is monitoring election-related activities to ensure that voters can get to the polls and exercise their right to vote in a safe and uninhibited manner,” the county said in a press release today. “[The] Arlington County Police Department will have increased patrols in the community, with polling place awareness, but will not have officers stationed at polling places.”

Arlington also reminded residents that Tuesday is an official county government holiday, meaning that metered parking will not be enforced.

Asked about possible delays in counting ballots on election night, Gretchen Reinemeyer, the county’s Director of Elections, suggested that the deluge of early and mail-in ballots shouldn’t slow things down here — as those ballots have already been counted.

“We consider a ballot is counted when it is read by a scanner. When you vote early, you insert your ballot into the scanner. It is counted at that point in time,” she told ARLnow today. “We’ve been processing mail ballots since early October.”

Reinemeyer noted, however, that election officials will not tabulate the results of the early votes until the polls close at 7 p.m.

Longtime Poll Volunteer Passing Baton to New Generation After Record-Breaking Election

By Jo DeVoe

From record early voting turnout to the volume of volunteer requests to the number of first-time voters, the word “first” characterizes many aspects of the 2020 election in Arlington.

But for 83-year-old poll volunteer Bill Thatcher, 2020 is his last year helping people exercise their “supreme privilege of voting.”

For the past 45 years, the Arlington resident has volunteered as a precinct chief at the polls, moving wherever he is needed. This year, he is an assistant chief of early voting at the Langston-Brown Community Center along Lee Highway.

What started a half-century ago as a minor way to give back to the community has become a mission to safeguard a right people have sacrificed everything to secure. Thatcher’s goal is to clear any impediments blocking people from voting and make everyone who walks into his precinct feel comfortable.

“I reflected just last evening, there are people who have shed blood and died for this freedom to vote, to keep freedom free,” he said.

After the election, Thatcher will have more time to focus on his day job as a real-estate broker, which he has had for 50 years. He just renewed his license, and plans to work so long as he is in good health.

2020 is a memorable election year to end on, with more than 50% of active voters having already cast early ballots. It thrills Thatcher, who lives in a neighborhood near the East Falls Church Metro station, to process the votes of many first-timers, several of whom are seniors.

Although lines can stretch up to two blocks, they move at a brisk pace, he said. He thinks the use of early voting to keep the Election Day crowd size down should stay when the pandemic fades because people seem to enjoy early voting. One pandemic precaution — curbside ballot pickup — did not prove popular, however. People want to see their ballots processed, he said.

“A few ask for receipts,” he said.

And it breaks his heart whenever someone has to be turned away. One year, a friend arrived at Thatcher’s precinct about 30 seconds after 7 p.m. and the polls had closed. By law, he could not let his friend in.

“It grieved me,” he said. “He made every attempt to come, he wanted to vote, he was ready, willing and able, registered and everything, but just because of time constraints, was not able to vote.”

Empathy is an important trait for future poll workers, says Thatcher.

“Make sure that you give them the assurance that their vote is important and deserves to be counted,” he said.

He started working at the polls in 1975, on the suggestion of his neighbor and distant relative, who had decided to step back from volunteering. Similar to his relative, Thatcher desires to pass his spot on.

“I just feel I’ve done it for this length of time and I should let someone else enter in now and do some volunteer work,” he said.

If this year is any indication, there are many who are eager to take up the baton. Thatcher said more than 2,000 people responded to this year’s call for poll volunteers.

“It’s fantastic we’ve had a huge influx in new workers this election who are stepping up to cover for those who cannot work due to health risks,” said Eric Olsen, Arlington’s Deputy Director of Elections, in an email.

Olsen said he hopes some of the new volunteers will stay on and have a rewarding experience working the polls for years to come, in the way that Thatcher has.

“People like Bill are the lifeblood of making elections function properly,” Olsen said. “They happen with preparation, trust, and most importantly — people.”

More Than Half of Active Arlington Voters Have Already Cast Ballots

By ARLnow.com

Arlington has just crossed the 50% mark.

New figures released today by the Arlington County elections office show that 85,776 votes have already been cast in the upcoming Nov. 3 election. That represents more than 50% of active voters in the county, and more than twice the early and mail-in votes of the entire record-setting 2016 presidential election.

It’s also up from the 30% early voting and mail-in ballot turnout as of Oct. 16, the day before four additional early voting locations opened.

Gretchen Reinemeyer, Arlington’s Director of Elections, said her office is encouraging Arlington residents to continue voting early.

“The Office of Voter Registration & Elections encourages voters to take advantage of one of our five early voting sites before Saturday, October 31,” Reinemeyer told ARLnow today. “This is the last day to vote early. Waits rarely exceed more than 10 minutes. The full list of locations and hours can be found online.”

“Voters planning to vote on Election Day must do so at their assigned polling place,” she added. “Voters should confirm their assigned polling place online at vote.elections.virginia.gov, email [email protected], or call 703-228-3456.”

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Expensive Bike Parking Spaces — “Metro has spent nearly $20,000 per bike parking space at three bike facilities, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has found. Metro has spent over $5.9 million on the construction of 304 bike spaces at the three facilities… located at the College Park, East Falls Church and Vienna Metro stations.” [NBC 4]

Short Waits to Vote in Arlington — “Eager to avoid waiting in line while casting an early ballot? Try to avoid peak times and you should be fine. ‘Wait times are minimal,’ said county elections chief Gretchen Reinemeyer, with the exception of early morning and occasionally at lunchtime. Other than that, voters have been experiencing waits of 10 minutes or less, and ‘most people are just walking straight in to vote,’ she said.” [InsideNova]

Voters Flocking to Ballot Drop-Boxes — “Arlington has set up nine dropboxes for the secure collection of ballots at points across the county, representing another option for those who neither want to vote in person nor wish to trust the U.S. Postal Service with their ballots. That network has proved ‘very popular,’ Arlington elections chief Gretchen Reinemeyer said.” [InsideNova]

Biden Leads in New Va. Poll — “Former vice president Joe Biden leads President Trump 52 percent to 41 percent among likely Virginia voters, according to a new Washington Post-Schar School poll — roughly double Hillary Clinton’s margin of victory in the state in 2016. Biden’s advantage cuts across most demographic groups, with regional strength in the Northern Virginia suburbs and the Richmond area.” [Washington Post]

Local Nonprofit Featured on GMA — “Lights, camera, action! We had a wonderful experience filming with the Good Morning America team last week. The piece aired early this morning… We were thrilled by an unexpected and very generous gift from Amazon.com to help our residents weather the pandemic.” [Facebook, Vimeo]

Police Investigation Bill Signed into Law — “Gov. Northam has signed my bill (HB 5072) to empower the Atty Gen to conduct ‘pattern or practice’ investigations of police forces that appear to be violating constitutional rights, such as patterns of excessive force, illegal searches, or racially biased policing.” [@Lopez4VA/Twitter]

Pupatella Now Available for Delivery — “UBER EATS Now available at all locations – DC (Dupont Circle), both the Original Wilson Blvd spot and South Arlington, as well as Richmond too! We’ve partnered up with UberEats to bring you some of the best pizza around.” [@PupatellaPizza/Twitter]

Local Beer Biz Figure Dies — “Ben Tolkan, a popular figure in DC’s beer industry who was the subject of a Washingtonian feature story, died late Saturday night after a five-and-a half-year battle with cancer. He was 37.” Tolkan is survived by his wife, Abby, an Arlington County public school teacher. [Washingtonian]

Photos: Biden Car Parade Over the Weekend

By ARLnow.com
1/10

The Trump campaign famously has had boat parades. Over the weekend the Biden campaign organized a car parade in Arlington.

On Saturday, the first day of expanded early voting, Biden’s Virginia campaign held a Latino Car Parade “to encourage Latinos to vote early and highlight the importance of the Latino vote in Virginia.”

Del. Alfonso Lopez (D-Arlington), Arlington School Board member Tannia Talento, and School Board candidate Cristina Diaz-Torres participated in the morning event, which culminated in early voting at the Walter Reed Community Center near Columbia Pike.

“The Biden-Harris Administration will get this pandemic under control, protect Latinos’ access to health care, and reform our broken immigration system,” the campaign said in a press release about the event.

Those participating in the car parade and subsequent rally were required by the campaign to adhere to COVID-19 safety precautions, “including wearing masks, temperature checks, and practicing social distancing.”

President Trump’s reelection campaign, which is based in Rosslyn, does not currently have any publicly-listed events planned in Arlington.

The car parade was not the only local Democratic political happening of note this weekend. Elected officials, including Sen. Mark Warner and Rep. Don Beyer, visited several early voting locations on Saturday.

More Early Voting Locations to Open Saturday

By ARLnow.com

Four new early voting locations will open in Arlington this weekend.

The Aurora Hills, Langston-Brown, Madison and Walter Reed community centers will all be open for early voting, starting at 9 a.m. Saturday. The voting hours at the community centers are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturdays and 2-7 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Early voting at the four new locations is in addition to the already-open Courthouse Plaza location, in the former Wells Fargo bank branch at 2200 Clarendon Blvd.

Arlington has seen record levels of mail-in and in-person early ballots. More than 30% of active voters have already cast ballots, Arlington election officials said today, up from 24% last week.

“We’ve never seen volumes this high,” Gretchen Reinemeyer, Arlington’s Director of Elections, told ARLnow last week.

Tomorrow’s kick-off of expanded early voting will draw a number of lawmakers to the area for “get out the early vote” campaign stops.

Sen. Mark Warner, along with fellow Virginia Democrats Rep. Don Beyer and Rep. Jennifer Wexton, will be making stops at community and government centers in Arlington and Fairfax County. Here in Arlington, they trio plan to visit the Aurora Hills Community Center (735 18th Street S.) at 11:30 a.m. and the Langston-Brown Community Center (2121 N. Culpeper Street) at 12:15 p.m.

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