Registrar reports net gains in registrations, details three special elections and absentee deadlines

The acting general registrar told the Fairfax County Electoral Board on Jan. 7 that the office recorded a net increase of roughly 7,000 active registered voters over the preceding three months and walked board members through compressed timelines for three upcoming special elections.

"It's been 3 months. We gained a total of 7,000 active registered voters," the registrar said, summarizing recent registration activity. The registrar said much of the movement was transfers and additions and pointed the board to the written report for transaction-level detail.

The office announced a Jan. 13 special election to fill an 11th-district vacancy; absentee mail ballot deadlines and early-voting windows were described as tight because of quick appointment and certification timelines. The registrar said the office started processing absentee mail ballots immediately and had the vendor drop-ship materials to speed mailings to voters.

Other contests discussed included a Jan. 20 special election for the 17th district seat and a March 3 Braddock District school board election. The registrar said there would be separate ballots, paperwork and voting machines for overlapping early-voting days and that the last day to receive absentee mail ballots for the first contest is noon on Jan. 16, with provisional adjudication planned on Jan. 17.

Board members asked the registrar to clarify the number of permanent absentee requests; the registrar said the permanent absentee list included 3,535 for the first election, 5,720 for the next and about 2,936 for the March contest. The registrar also noted the office conducts logic and accuracy testing on every voting device in each election.

The board did not take new policy action on the schedule; staff were asked to continue preparations and monitoring as the election dates approach.