WASHINGTON — Significantly more absentee ballots have been cast ahead of Tuesday’s primary for mayor and City Council in Alexandria than for the same election three years ago.
Through early Monday, 2,328 Democratic primary absentee ballots had been cast in Alexandria, nearly double the amount cast in 2015, according to data provided by Alexandria General Registrar Anna Leider.
The number of people casting absentee ballots in the Democratic primary has increased this year compared with 2015 in every precinct across the city.
The number of total registered voters in the city has risen from 94,108 in 2015’s primary to 104,591 today.
The 2015 race was not tied to a midterm election year, but was heated among then-Mayor Bill Euille, former Mayor Kerry Donley and eventual winner and current Mayor Allison Silberberg.
Vice Mayor Justin Wilson is challenging her for that job this year, and there is a large field of candidates running for the six Democratic nominations for City Council seats. Four of those running are incumbents.
In the Republican primary for U.S. Senate, Leider said 93 Alexandrians cast absentee ballots in person, 76 have sent their ballots in the mail, and 59 have yet to be returned.
Arlington
Next door in Arlington County — where voters are choosing between Matt de Ferranti and Chanda Choun for the Democratic nomination for County Board — the county’s Office of Elections said 542 voters had cast in-person absentee ballots in the Democratic primary. Another 288 had returned ballots in the mail, with 553 still outstanding.
In the Republican U.S. Senate primary, 105 Arlington residents cast in-person ballots, 90 returned Republican primary absentee ballots in the mail, and 88 GOP ballots are still outstanding.
Absentee ballots must be received by elections officials in Virginia before polls close in order to be counted. The postmark date generally does not matter.
There are no contested U.S. House primaries in Arlington or Alexandria on Tuesday, although there are a number of them in other parts of the region.
