Photo courtesy of City of Alexandria
Early special election voting is underway in Alexandria.
Alexandria voters aren't waiting until Nov. 3 to weigh in on this year's midterm elections.
Through Tuesday, Sept. 22, 1,399 city voters had cast early ballots, according to data from the nonpartisan Virginia Public Access Project. At the same point in 2022, the last midterm election, 340 Alexandrians had voted early. The city has already reached nearly 7% of its total 2022 early vote, 20,437 ballots, with more than five weeks of early voting left.
The city is outpacing a statewide surge. Through Sept. 22, 94,284 Virginians had cast early ballots since in-person voting opened Friday, Sept. 18, nearly three times the 33,760 cast at the same point in 2022.
The count includes both early in-person votes and returned mail ballots, based on daily files from the Virginia Department of Elections.
Where the votes are coming from
The 1st District, which stretches from the Richmond suburbs through the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula to the Williamsburg area, leads the state in early voting, with 13,486 ballots cast through Sept. 22, according to VPAP's district-by-district tracker. The 11th District, which covers most of Fairfax County, follows with 12,342, and the 5th District is third with 10,967.
The 1st District is home to one of the state's most closely watched House races, with Republican Rep. Rob Wittman, who has held the seat since 2007, facing Democrat Shannon Taylor, Henrico County's commonwealth's attorney.
The 8th District, which includes Alexandria, ranks sixth with 7,832 early ballots. The 11th District stands out for how its voters are casting ballots: more than half of its early votes, 6,532, have come in by mail, the most of any district.
A busy start in Alexandria
The surge was visible on the first morning. Registrar of Voters Angie Maniglia-Turner told DC News Now that the city had checked in 160 early voters within the first few hours on opening day, more than the 130 who voted early during the entire first day in 2022.
What's on the ballot
This year's ballot includes the U.S. Senate race between incumbent Democrat Mark Warner, an Alexandria resident who is seeking a fourth term, and Republican Bert Mizusawa, a retired U.S. Army major general; all 11 of Virginia's U.S. House seats; and three proposed amendments to the Virginia Constitution.
Voters will cast ballots in the same congressional districts they used in 2022 and 2024. In May, the Supreme Court of Virginia struck down the redistricting amendment voters approved in an April 21 special election, leaving the existing map in place.
Why the comparison has limits
Early numbers don't predict final turnout or results, and the 2022 comparison isn't a perfect match. That year, no statewide race appeared on the ballot. This year, the Senate contest and the constitutional amendments give voters across the commonwealth additional reasons to show up.
How to vote early
Early in-person voting continues through Saturday, Oct. 31. Alexandria voters can find early voting locations, hours and mail ballot information through the city's Office of Voter Registration and Elections. Voters elsewhere in Virginia can look up their local registrar through the Virginia Department of Elections.
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3.
