A special election is set for Jan. 13 to fill two open seats in Virginia’s House of Delegates, vacated by delegates destined for Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger’s cabinet.
The special election is taking place in two Northern Virginia districts that include parts of Fairfax, Prince William and Stafford counties, as well as Fairfax City.
The results of the upcoming special election will bring some new faces to Richmond. None of the candidates running have prior experience serving in Virginia’s General Assembly.
Both districts are considered to be Democratic strongholds and the open seats are currently occupied by Democratic lawmakers, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.
In District 11, Democrat Gretchen Bulova is facing off against Republican Adam Wise.
In nearby District 23, Democrat Margaret Franklin and Republican nominee Verndell Robinson are running for the open seat.
Dates at a glance
- Early in-person voting: Jan. 3 through Jan. 10
- Deadline to register or update voter registration: Jan. 6
- Deadline to request mail-in or absentee ballot: Friday, Jan. 2
- Election Day: Jan. 13
Early voting
Early voting will be held for one week, from Jan. 3 through Jan. 10 at 5 p.m.
These are the Fairfax County early voting locations:
- The Fairfax County Government Center is open Monday to Friday for early voting, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., according to the county government. On Saturdays, polls are open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- The Jim Scott Community Center is also open for early voting Monday to Friday, from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. It’s also open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays.
In Fairfax City, voters can cast a ballot early at city hall from these times:
- Voting is open at Fairfax City Hall, Monday to Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. It’s also open on Saturdays from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
These are the early voting locations in Prince William County:
- Office of Elections on Lee Avenue
- A.J. Ferlazzo Building in Woodbridge
- Dumfries Community Center
All three locations in Prince William County are open for early voting from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays, with hours extended until 7 p.m. for Wednesday. On Saturdays, voting is open to 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Voting is also open Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Stafford County is also offering early voting:
- Polls are open Monday to Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the general registrar’s office located at 124 Old Potomac Church Road. On Saturdays, early voting is available from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Get in touch with your local registrar’s office for more information on where to vote early.
Voting on Election Day
Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. for in-person voting on Jan. 13.
Voters who are 65 or older, or those with disabilities, have the option of voting curbside.
Anyone hoping to vote needs to bring a valid ID. If you happen to forget, you can sign an ID confirmation statement or vote with a provisional ballot.
To get your provisional ballot counted, you have until noon on Jan. 16 to bring a copy of your ID to the local electoral board or sign a confirmation statement.
A list of acceptable forms of ID is available online.
Vote by mail
Friday is the deadline to request a mail-in ballot. Virginians can request an absentee ballot online.
Those ballots have to be postmarked on or before Jan. 13 and received by Jan. 16.
Outside of mailing those absentee ballots, voters can also bring them to a drop-off location. Check in with your city or county elections office for information about drop boxes and their locations.
Who’s on the ballot?
District 11
Democrat Gretchen Bulova is vying to succeed her husband, Del. David Bulova, in District 11.
The longtime delegate was appointed by Spanberger to serve as the secretary of Natural and Historic Resources.
Gretchen Bulova is running against Wise, the Republican nominee, for a shot at representing voters in Fairfax City and parts of Fairfax County.
Wise, a Fairfax native, is resurrecting his platform from when he challenged David Bulova in 2025. He’s a firearms instructor and self-defense teacher.
Gretchen Bulova has served as the chair of the Fairfax County 250th Commission since 2021 and the county’s history commission for years.
District 23
There’s a second open seat up for grabs on Jan. 13 over in District 23, where Del. Candi Mundon King is stepping away to serve as the next secretary of the Commonwealth.
Margaret Franklin, the Prince William County supervisor, hopes to maintain a Democratic hold in the district, which includes parts of both Prince William and Stafford counties.
She’s facing off against Republican nominee Verndell Robinson, a real estate agent and Navy veteran, according to a local GOP committee.
The Democratic nominees in the upcoming special election were selected last month in firehouse primaries — contests run by the party, not the state. But the Republican committees in District 11 and District 23 nominated candidates without holding caucuses.
Meanwhile, a second special election will be held later in January in a different part of Fairfax County. Democrat Garrett McGuire and Republican Chris Cardiff are competing to fill an open seat in District 17 on Jan. 20.
Del. Mark Sickles, who represents District 17, was tapped to serve as Virginia’s next secretary of finance.
