Virginia Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin’s teenage son tried to vote despite being ineligible to do so, the Fairfax County Office of Elections said Friday.
Scott Konopasek, general registrar and director of elections for the county, said the 17-year-old made two attempts at voting on Election Day. He presented identification but could not be registered, because he was underage and therefore was not able to vote.
WTOP is not identifying Youngkin’s son, because he is under 18 and has not been charged with a crime.
He was given a registration form and encouraged to participate in future elections, Konopasek said.
Konopasek said based on current information about the incident, Youngkin’s son did not violate any election codes. “The man did not vote. He made no false statements. He did not disrupt voting,” he said.
The Youngkin campaign said that the 17-year-old “misunderstood Virginia election law” when he attempted to vote.
When contacted for a statement, the Youngkin campaign said:
It’s unfortunate that while Glenn attempts to unite the Commonwealth around his positive message of better schools, safer streets, a lower cost of living, and more jobs, his political opponents–mad that they suffered historic losses this year–are pitching opposition research on a 17-year old kids who honestly misunderstood Virginia election law and simply asked polling officials if he was eligible to vote; when informed he was not, he went to school.
Youngkin was elected governor earlier this week, defeating Democratic opponent Terry McAuliffe and becoming the first Republican since 2009 to be elected governor in Virginia. It was part of a sweep that saw members of the GOP elected governor, Lt. governor and Attorney General.
Election integrity was a central message of Youngkin’s campaign as he fought for the Republican nomination.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
