Early voting in Fairfax County is scheduled to begin on Friday, Sept. 18 at the Fairfax County Government Center Mondays through Fridays from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Voting will also be available on Saturdays from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Sept. 19, and on Oct. 14 through Oct. 31. 

Any registered Fairfax County voter can vote early, according to a statement from the Fairfax County Government. 

Starting Oct. 14, 13 additional early voting locations will open up across the county. These locations include the Herndon Fortnightly Library and North County Governmental Center. Great Falls Library will open for early voting on Oct. 17 and is only open on Saturdays.

Early voting will end on Oct. 31 at 5 p.m., according to the statement. There will be social distancing and enhanced cleaning measures to protect voters and poll workers. 

Polls are now allowing multiple different forms of identification in place of a photo ID, including a copy of a voter’s current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck or any other government document with the voter’s name and address. Expired Virginia drivers’ licenses are also allowed, according to the statement. 

If a voter requested a mail-in ballot but now wants to vote early, they can bring their uncast mail-in ballot to the polling location and surrender it in exchange for a new, in-person ballot. 

Those voters don’t want to mail in their cast ballot can return it at a drop-off box at any early voting site during open hours. Additionally, starting Sept. 21 the Fairfax County Government Center will have a 24-hour secure drop-off box at the government center.

Job seekers have the chance to apply for a new seasonal gig. The Fairfax County Office of Elections recently announced it’s hiring more than 200 workers for the November election.

The positions came about because the elections office is expecting a significant rise in absentee voting this year, Brian Worthy, a Fairfax County spokesperson, told Reston Now.

Applicants can apply to be considered for three various positions, according to the job listings.

About 200 people are needed to process mailed absentee ballots, starting around Sept. 28 and likely working until a few days after the election. Meanwhile, about 40 people will get hired to assist in–person absentee voters at satellite locations from Oct. 14-Oct. 31. A limited number of people are needed for the administration tasks like data input, which the job description did not include a timeframe for.

“Skills we are looking for are people who have attention to detail and basic computer skills,” Worthy said, adding that applicants must also be registered voters in Virginia. Other requirements and a detailed description of each position can be found online.

“For all positions, you are hired as a seasonal employee, paid hourly, and must go through a background check including fingerprinting. The work is seasonal with no benefits and is dependent on the election schedule,” the listing said, adding that most employees will be paid around $14 an hour. The opportunities are filled on a first-come, first-serve basis.

“We are still in the hiring process so we don’t have a count of how many positions have been filled yet,” Worthy said.

Anyone interested in applying can fill out an online Survey Monkey form. Applicants shouldn’t be surprised if they don’t hear back right away, Worthy said.

“The hiring process does take some time, so people might not hear back immediately,” according to Worthy, who added that he encourages people to apply early so they will have plenty of time to complete the onboarding process.

According to Fairfax County’s website, there are also openings for local election officers. The county said that it’s received roughly 10 times the normal number of applications for the election officer roles.

Photo via Tiffany Tertipes/Unsplash

(Updated 11:10 a.m.) Be careful if you get a mailer from the Center for Voter Information, Fairfax County election officials say.

Fairfax County and City of Fairfax residents have received the mailers from the Center for Voter Information, which have incorrect return addresses.

“This mailing is causing great confusion and concern among voters who have been contacting our office,” said Fairfax County General Registrar Gary Scott. “While the mailing may appear to be from an official government agency, the Fairfax County Office of Elections did not send it.”

The Center for Voter Information, a voter registration group, says its working on returning the incorrect mailers to the right addresses. Roughly half-a-million mailers included incorrect information.

“Mistakes in our programming are very rare, but we take them seriously, and our methods overall are extraordinarily effective,” the center wrote in a statement yesterday.

“We know voters are on high alert as the November election approaches, and we regret adding to any confusion,” the center added.

Jonathan Shapiro, the president of Smith-Edwards-Dunlap Company, apologized in a statement, saying that the printing vendor is responsible for the “major error.”

“This mistake occurred because we incorrectly aligned a spreadsheet that matched the voter with their local election office,” Shapiro said. CVI did not review the spreadsheet and the printing vendor has taken steps to make sure mistakes are caught in the future, Shapiro added.

“This is not the level of work that SED and our partner, Quad Graphics, pride ourselves on. We have printed and mailed over 100 million vote-by-mail applications and voter registration applications without error and we are committed to the highest standards of quality control and excellence,” Shapiro said.  “In this mailing we fell far short of that goal. We apologize to CVI, to the staff at the affected local boards of election, and to the voters.”

County officials are warning voters about the “inaccurate and potentially misleading mailing” that asks people to return them to the City of Fairfax.

More from the county:

This group is mass mailing pre-filled, absentee ballot applications to county voters without their request — and the mailer includes return envelopes to send the application to the City of Fairfax, not Fairfax County.

The mailing is also confusing voters who have previously submitted absentee ballot applications themselves, Scott added. These voters are worried that their applications were not received, leading them to think they need to apply again.

Fairfax County is working with the City of Fairfax to ensure any applications received from the center’s inaccurate mailing will be processed by the county.

“The Virginia Department of Elections has no affiliation with this group nor coordinates with any third-party groups on campaign efforts,” according to the Virginia Department of Elections. The department noted that any applications that get sent to the wrong locality’s office will be sent to the correct office.

This is not the first time that mailers from the Center for Voter Information, which describes itself as a non-partisan organization that helps people vote, have confused Virginians.

The News Leader, a newspaper in Staunton, explained last year how organizations can obtain mailing addresses after the Center for Voter Information confused residents with a mailer about voter registration.

County election officials said that election information from the county will include a county seal on the envelope, along with the “Official Election Mail Authorized by the U. S. Postal Service” logo.

Fairfax County voters who want to return the Center for Voter Information applications should mail it to the Fairfax County Office of Elections (12000 Government Center Parkway Suite 323, Fairfax, VA 22035), Brian Worthy, a county spokesperson, said.

People who want to absentee vote by mail can apply online, which will allow them to track the status of their application, or vote in-person at 15 locations. Registered voters can expect their ballots to arrive after Sept. 18.

Photo by Element5 Digital/Unsplash, photo via mailer via Fairfax County

Catherine Douglas Moran and Fatimah Waseem worked on this story

Many election officers in the county fall in high-risk categories for COVID-19.

The Fairfax County Office of Election is seeking more election officers this year to assist voters on Election Day, which is on Nov. 3.

The county is the largest voting jurisdictions in the state, with 243 precincts nationwide. Officers must be registered voters.

Training for new officers will begin online in September. Compensation begins at $175.

The application is available online. The deadline is Oct. 10 and mandatory online training must be completed by Oct. 14.

More information is available on the county’s website.

Reston Community Center has announced the voting schedule to fill three seats on its Board of Governors.

Voting in the annual preference poll will begin on September 11. RCC is seeking candidates for the seats, which have three-year terms. Residents of Small District 5 who are age 18 or above are eligible to run.

Candidates can submit a candidacy statement between August 1 and August 15 to have their names included on the preference poll ballot. Registration forms will be available at RCC Hunters Woods and RCC Lake Anne, as well as online beginning August 1.

A candidate photo session and orientation is set for August 15. Voting takes place from September 11 through September 27, until October 2 at 5 p.m. The deadline for mailed. Ballots is October 1 until 5 p..m. and October 2 until 5 p.m. for online and walk-in voting.

The Board of Governors is a nine-member body that overseeing policies, programming and finances for RCC.

Logo via Reston Community Center

Yesterday, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved creating 14 voter satellite offices.

The voter satellite offices will serve absentee in-person voters.

“The advent of no-excuse absentee voting [in Virginia] for the November 2020 Presidential Election is expected to significantly increase the number of voters choosing to cast absentee ballots in person,” according to county staff.

County staff noted that the expected voter turnout for the upcoming presidential election is why they suggest an increased number of voter satellite offices, adding that the county had nine locations for the 2016 presidential election.

The Reston-area voter satellite offices will include:

• Great Falls Library (9830 Georgetown Pike)
• Herndon Fortnightly Library (768 Center Street)
• North County Governmental Center (1801 Cameron Glen Drive)

The voter satellite offices will be ready for the General Election on Nov. 3 and will be open from Oct. 14-31, according to county documents.

The locations would be open from 1-7 p.m. on weekdays and from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturdays.

When 81 Reston Association members cast online ballots for the current board election on the first day of voting on Monday, they voted with incorrect ballots linked to other members.

The technical error prompted Intelliscan, RA’s independent election agent, to toss the ballots out and fix the issue.

“Intelliscan has since corrected the error and come up with a comprehensive plan to address those individuals who voted with an erroneous ballot,” said Mike Leone, RA’s spokesman.

Due to the botched ballots, Intelliscan has created a special log-in to verify the credentials of the 2,500 members who plan to vote online. Members must call Intelliscan to verify their credentials, after which the company will send a new voter link with the correct ballot to cast a vote. The company is also sending paper ballots to all members as a “safeguard.”

Both corrective actions are being administered at no additional cost to RA. The issue only impacted online ballots.

An alert to inform members of the technical error and apologize for the mixup has been sent to affected members. The email includes a link for members to cast their votes online.

“This process will ensure that RA members impacted will not be able to double vote,” Leone wrote.  RA says that the issue was a one-time error that has been resolved and will not impact the remainder of the elections.

Intelliscan said the issue was a technical error, as described by RA below:

Intelliscan received the Member file from RA to send out the pre-election email blast to collect any “bounce backs” from Members that had opted-in.  Voter codes were then populated.  Intelliscan realized after the pre-election email blast had been sent, that the corresponding addresses were incorrect for some Members and requested a corrected file from RA.  Additional Members where added and voters codes were repopulated within the Membership file.  Additionally, Intelliscan kept a separate “notify table” which held the names of Members that were sent the pre-election email blast.  Unfortunately, the codes in the “notify table” were not updated by Intelliscan to the correct voter codes prior to the second “kick-off” email blast.  Once RA realized that the emailed Members’ voter codes were incorrect, the association contacted Intelliscan and the voting website was taken down by Intelliscan. 

This is not the first time RA board elections have had hiccups. Last year, technical issues caused roughly 2,800 paper ballots to be returns as undeliverable. Intelliscan resent the ballots to the correct addresses and moved to extend the voting period.

Anyone with questions about the issue can contact Intelliscan by calling 252-560-8079 or emailing Michelle McRoy at [email protected].

Image via Reston Association

(Updated 2/28/2020) Students at Fairfax County’s public schools will get to stay home on March 3 for Super Tuesday.

Large crowds are expected to turn out for the primary election in Virginia. Brian Worthy, a spokesperson for the county, said that 167 polling places will be in the schools for voters casting their ballots for the Democratic presidential nomination.

The county’s school board voted last spring to make Super Tuesday a student holiday for the 2019-2020 school year.

While students will have the day off, staff will still need to report to the schools, Lucy Caldwell, an FCPS spokesperson, said.

Eligible voters can find their polling location on the Virginia Department of Elections website or the My Neighborhood App.

A bill that no longer requires voters to provide an excuse to cast an absentee ballot cleared the Senate this week.

The bill, which was introduced by Sen. Janet Howell (D-Reston) allows registered voters to cast an absentee ballot in any election where the voter is qualified to cast a ballot.

Howell’s bill was part of a package of bills that tweak the voting process in Virginia.

Other proposals, which got a green light from the Senate earlier this week, include designating Election Day as a state holiday and extending the deadline for the receipt of military and overseas absentee ballots.

Proposals in the House and Senate to remove photo ID requirements were killed in committee.

The proposals would have allowed voters to show registration statements, bank documents or other government-issued paperwork with the name and address of the voter.

Howell’s bill passed in the Senate by a 31-9 vote.

Photo by Catherine Moran

“Super Tuesday” is in March — but Fairfax County is reminding voters about absentee voting and seeking election officers now.

Absentee voting for the 2020 presidential primary starts later this week on Friday, Jan. 17.

The deadline to register to vote in the March 3 primary is Feb. 10. People can check their voter eligibility on the Virginia State Board of Elections website.

Last week, the county announced that it needs 2,100 election officers for the primary.

The Office of Elections especially is looking for bilingual officers who speak Korean or Vietnamese for the Falls Church area, along with Annadel and Centreville, according to the county.

Election officers help set up voting equipment, check photo IDs and tabulate poll results. Compensation starts at $175 or people can choose to volunteer their time.

Fairfax County voters are headed to the polls today.

In the Hunter Mill and Drainsville districts, there are several seats up for election including the Commonwealth’s Attorney, Fairfax County School Board positions and Board of Supervisors seats.

Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. and voters can swing by anytime throughout the day.

There are several options for anyone wishing to monitor turnout and results. Fairfax County’s Twitter account will be posting updates at 9 a.m., noon and 3 p.m.

There are around 20 various polling locations, which will be open throughout the area. Voters can find their designated polling location using the My Neighborhood Map or through the Virginia Department of Elections website.

Below is a map of all the voting locations throughout Reston and Herndon.

Proposed Changes to Land Use Regulations Unveiled Today — Fairfa County officials will showcase proposed revisions to zoning land use regulations as part os its zoning modernization project — zMOD — today (Tuesday) at the Fairfax County Government Center at 7 p.m. [Fairfax County Government]

INOVA Blood Drive is Today — The bloodmobile will be stationed next to the pavilion from 1-6 p.m. today. Appointments to donate blood can be scheduled online or by calling 1-866-256-6372. [Reston Town Center]

Absentee Voting in Full Swing — Absentee voting, which kickstarted last Thursday, across 10 locations in Fairfax County is underway. Locations will be open Mondays through Saturdays until Saturday, Nov. 2 at 5 p.m. [Fairfax County Government]

(Updated at 1:10 p.m.) Voting is in full swing for the Democratic primary as five candidates vie for Hunter Mill District Supervisor — a seat vacated by local veteran legislator Cathy Hudgins.

As of 1 p.m., turnout in the Hunter Mill District was around 4.7 percent — the highest of all other districts in the county. Overall, turnout in the county is 3.4 percent.

The morning got off to a slow start. Campaign volunteers at Reston Community Centers said they only saw a handful of candidates between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. today (Tuesday). Campaign signs flapped quietly in the wind as the casual voter strolled in.

In previous years, voter turnout for local primaries has been under 10 percent. For example, in the 2010 Republican primary, turnout was just under 5 percent in the Hunter Mill District.

So far, Comstock spokeswoman Maggie Parker leads total fundraising with $258,225 raised, despite a late start to her campaign. Former Fairfax County Planning Commissioner Walter Alcorn — who has also picked up a number of local and county endorsements — raised $102,749.

U.S. Air Force Veteran and community advocate Shyamali Hauth raised $28,738 — a little more than lawyer Laurie Dodd, who raised $24,919. Recent Roanoke College graduate Parker Messick raised a little over $7,000.

Candidate profiles published on Reston Now are linked below:

• Laurie Dodd
• Maggie Parker
• Parker Messick
• Shyamali Hauth
• Walter Alcorn

Voters will also select a new chair for the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors:

• Reston developer Timothy Chapman
• Lee District Supervisor Jeffrey McKay
• Georgetown law professor Alicia Plerhoples
• Fairfax County School Board Member At-Large Ryan McElveen

Information about the complete ballot is available online.

Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. today. Acceptable forms of identification include a Virginia driver’s license, a U.S. passport, employer-issued photo ID, and student photo ID. Only one form of ID is required.

County officials will post updates on Twitter about voter turnout totals throughout the day. Unofficial election returns are expected to come in starting around 7 p.m. today.

As a reminder, registered voters of any party can participate in the Democratic primary.