Voters in several towns in Northern Virginia got notices that had incorrect voting location information.
The towns are Clifton, Dumfries, Herndon, Occoquan, Quantico and Vienna.
“Following the redistricting process, the Department of Elections mailed over 6 million voter notices to all registered voters in the Commonwealth. A second mailing of 176,000 notices was sent to voters whose original notice did not include their town district number or who had a P.O. Box,” the Virginia Department of Elections said in a statement, pinning the error to a “printing issue.”
Registrars in Prince William and Fairfax counties are sending out corrected notices to those who got one with incorrect information. You can check your voting information on the department of elections website, or you can call 804-864-8901 and dialing 0 for the operator.
State Sen. Jennifer Boysko called the error a “major screw up” by the department of elections. She said that in the Town of Herndon, which she represents, some 13,000 residents received incorrect polling location information that told voters to go to the City of Fairfax to vote.
All @TownOfHerndon voters go to your regular Herndon polling location to vote on November 8th. Herndon Elementary, Herndon Community Center, or Herndon Middle School. Your polling place has NOT CHANGED. @fairfaxcounty @LWVFairfax @vaELECT
— State Senator Jennifer B. Boysko (@JenniferBoysko) October 20, 2022
“I am disappointed that the Virginia Department of Elections continues to issue incorrect notices to voters. This is not the first major incident during this important election season. I urge the Department of Elections to work quickly to restore the public’s faith in our election system,” Boysko said in a joint statement with Del. Irene Shin.
Some voters in Southwest Virginia also received incorrect voting information, WJHL reported.
Shin, who lives in Herndon, Boysko and Dranesville Supervisor John Foust called on the department of elections and Commissioner Susan Beals to immediately issue corrections. Shin is also calling for an apology and explanation on how the error happened.
“Voting is the cornerstone of our democracy. Misinformation, disenfranchisement, and voter suppression are all unacceptable,” Shin said.
“Town of Herndon voters have not been moved to a new precinct for any reason – redistricting or otherwise. If you – yourself – have not moved to a new residence, you should go to your regular polling place if you wish to cast your ballot on November 8th,” Boysko said in a statement.
According to the Virginia constitution, a “town” means any existing town or an incorporated community within one or more counties which became a town “before noon, July one, nineteen hundred seventy-one, as provided by law or which has within defined boundaries a population of 1,000 or more and which has become a town as provided by law.”
