Voting season is coming up, and there’s a ton of different races to follow for Virginia voters. With very little time left, it gets hard to keep track of them all. This article will cover the basics of all you’ll be voting for this November, as well as a brief introduction to registration.
Registration
As long as you’re 18 years of age before November 5, you’re old enough to vote! You can register online at https://vote.elections.virginia.gov/. It takes less than 30 minutes, and you can be all set to vote.
Presidential Election
The two main candidates are Kamala Harris (D), and Donald Trump (R). Their vice presidents are Tim Walz, current Democratic governor of Minnesota, and JD Vance, a current Republican senator of Ohio. The Harris-Walz platform focuses on income inequality, civil rights, healthcare reform, and green energy. The Trump-Vance platform focuses on immigration control, bringing down the budget deficit, inflation control, and cutting imports.
Notable independent candidates include Jill Stein of the Green Party, Chase Oliver of the Libertarian Party, and Cornel West, an independent.
US Senate Election
The current race is between the incumbent Tim Kaine (D), versus Hung Cao (R). Tim Kaine has been in the seat since 2013, and briefly ran as a vice presidential candidate in Hillary Clinton’s campaign. Hung Cao ran for Virginia’s 10th district House seat in 2022, but lost to Jennifer Wexton (D). Kaine’s platform focuses on green energy, gun violence prevention, and infrastructure development. Cao’s platform advocates for border security, elimination of diversity and inclusivity programs, and the banning of “critical race theory” programs in schools, and improvement of American manufacturing.
US House of Representatives – 11th District
Our house seat is up for election this year, with incumbent Gerry Connolly (D) facing off against Mike Van Meter (R). Connolly has been in the seat since 2010, beforehand serving on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors for 14 years. Van Meter is making his political debut, after a career in the military, FBI, and now a behavioral therapist specializing in addiction recovery. Connolly’s platform highlights criminal justice reform, healthcare reform, and retirement security as key issues he will focus on. Van Meter’s platform cites securing the border, reducing crime, and economic reform as his key goals.
Virginia Constitutional Amendment
A new constitutional amendment is on the ballot, concerning benefits to spouses of fallen soldiers. Currently a property tax exemption is available for spouses of those killed in action, and this amendment would extend this exemption to those also killed in the line of duty. Those killed in the line of duty can then include those who die during training incidents, disaster recovery efforts, and by terrorist attacks in non-combat zones.
Fairfax County Bonds
Bonds can be taken out by the government to pay for large projects with consent of the constituency, and Fairfax County has two on the ballot this year. The first concerns transportation, taking out $180 million dollars for transportation maintenance and improvements, especially around the DC Metro area. The second is a $126 million dollar bond for public safety improvements, including police stations, fire stations, and facilities relating to criminal and civil justice.
