Fairfax City VA Election: 11th District, Senate, President Races

Updated at 4:31 p.m.

FAIRFAX CITY, VA — Election Day 2020 has almost arrived in Fairfax City, with voters coming out to vote in the presidential election, along with cast a ballot in the 11th Congressional District.

A large percentage of voters in Fairfax City have already voted by mail or in-person absentee. But lines are expected at polling stations on Tuesday due to social distancing and other precautions taken due to the coronavirus.

At around 3:45 p.m., the precinct at Fairfax High School reported 17.6 percent of its registered voters had cast ballots on Tuesday, according to election officials. That's in addition to the 53 percent who had already cast their votes during the early voting period. In 2016, when there was lower early voting, overall voter turnout in the City of Fairfax was 81.2 percent.

Everyone else in Emily Trencher's family had already voted, but she wanted to cast her ballot on Election Day.

"This is a very key election for our future," Trencher said, outside the Fairfax High School polling center. "This is an election about human decency and the rights of human people in the United States. I don't think that our future is very bright with our current president and I felt that it was important to vote in order to bring forward a nation that we should be proud to give our children and grandchildren."

Tuesday was the first time that Alejandra Montero had a chance to vote in a U.S. election, so she cast her ballot at the Fairfax High polling center.

"I just came because I had to," she said. "I just moved here a year ago and this is my first time."

When asked about how she felt casting her first vote, Montero said it felt weird because she'd never done it before in her home country of Bolivia.

David Price of Fairfax votes for every presidential election. "I feel like it's my civic duty to get out and vote, so that's what I do," he said.

On the ballot in Fairfax City are the presidential election, U.S. Senate and the 11th Congressional District race. Two state constitutional amendments are also on the ballot.

Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Nov. 3. For those voting in person on Nov. 3, you can check your polling place at https://www.fairfaxva.gov/government/voter-registration/how-to-vote/city-polling-locations.

An acceptable form of identification is required to vote in person, but it no longer has to be a photo ID. Examples of accepted IDs include a Virginia driver's license or DMV-issued photo ID, U.S. passport, and copy of a utility bill, paycheck or other government document showing the voter's address.

In the 11th Congressional District, Rep. Gerard Connolly (D) is running for re-election against Manga Anantatmula (R).

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Connolly, in a letter to constituents, noted that two areas that have been left unaddressed by Congress are aid to state and local governments and saving the postal service.

"As a former chairman of Fairfax County, I’m especially cognizant of the needs of local governments," Connolly said.

Connolly said he has a call with leaders from local government in the 11th District to hear first-hand about the problems they are facing. "They’re not only facing massive unexpected direct costs from treating coronavirus, but are seeing their own tax bases utterly decimated," he said. "Failing to shore up state and local governments finances now will lead to unnecessary budget cuts, job losses, and a deeper recession."

On her website, Anantatmula said she has refused to take any government assistance for her son while he was growing up even though the Fairfax County Public School offered free lunch during his school days. "My husband and I worked hard to pull ourselves up," she said. "We believe in individual responsibility, self-reliance, and hard work; and we taught these same values to our son."

Anantatmula also said on her website that politicians "are shutting down schools for political reasons and it has nothing to do with COVID."

"School closure disrupts all of this. Reopening schools — while taking precautions to protect students, teachers, staff, and families — invest in our children," she said.

For more information, visit the City of Fairfax Office of Elections website.