Voters in Northern Virginia will soon have a chance to replace Mark Keam, the longtime Democratic state delegate who resigned last month.
The Fairfax County Democratic Committee will host an event Saturday that will allow voters to select a Democratic nominee.
Keam represented the 35th District, which includes Tysons, Vienna, Dunn Loring and Oakton.
“Each participant must be a qualified voter in the 35th District at the time of their participation,” the committee said in a statement. “No participant may intend to support any candidate who is opposed to the Democratic nominee.”
Voting will be open at three sites Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Two of the locations are in Vienna — the Kilmer Center cafeteria and the Patrick Henry Library meeting room. The third location is at the Oakton Elementary School cafeteria.
Additionally, early voting will be open at the headquarters of the Fairfax County Democratic Committee on Thursday from 5 to 8 p.m.
Voters will choose between two Democratic candidates, including Karl Frisch and Holly Seibold. Frisch is a member of the Fairfax County School Board; Seibold is a nonprofit leader.
The winner will face a Republican candidate in a special election on Jan. 10. However, there are no Republicans in the race yet.
“We just posted the application forms, so it may be a few days to a week before we get a list together,” said Steve Knotts, chairman of the Fairfax County Republican Committee.
Knotts said Republicans plan to hold an event to select their nominee Nov. 5, similar to what the Democrats have planned for this weekend.
“We’re having the people in the 35th District come out and cast a vote for their candidate at that point,” Knotts said.
Keam, the first Korean American to be elected in Virginia’s General Assembly, had served in the House of Delegates since 2010. He stepped down so he could take a job in the International Trade Administration at the U.S. Department of Commerce.
