Virginia LWV Sues vs. Youngkin Action to Remove Voters
This Monday the Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights and the League of Women Voters of Virginia filed a lawsuit in federal court to challenge the state’s policy of illegally and systematically removing voters from the rolls only one month before the upcoming election. The plaintiffs are represented by Campaign Legal Center, the Protect Democracy Project, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and Advancement Project.
The lawsuit alleges that these systematic purges of Virginia’s voter rolls violate the National Voter Registration Act and risk improper removal of eligible voters, particularly those who are naturalized US citizens.
The challenged policy is a result of Executive Order 35, which was signed by Governor Glenn Youngkin in August and requires state and local election officials to remove individuals from the state voter registration list if Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) records do not indicate US citizenship. However, as the complaint explains, Virginia driver’s licenses are available to non-citizens and can remain valid for up to eight years, meaning people who obtained driver’s licenses as non-citizens, subsequently became US citizens, and lawfully registered to vote are being unlawfully purged from the voter rolls based on outdated DMV information.
“Every American has the freedom to vote regardless of where they were born. Instead of protecting Americans’ freedom, Virginia is using stale data to illegally purge voters right before the 2024 Election.,” said Bruce V. Spiva, Senior Vice President at Campaign Legal Center “The Department of Elections is engaged in a process that targets qualified US citizens, and we filed the lawsuit to protect voters’ fundamental freedom to vote.”
Tysons Apartment Rental Costs Highest in Region
Tysons continues to have the priciest apartment-rental costs in the D.C. region. The median Tysons apartment-rental price in September was $2,654 ($2,414 for one-bedroom units and $2,894 for two bedrooms), according to figures reported last Thursday (Oct. 3) by Apartment List.
That puts Tysons at the top of 31 sub-markets in the region. Among other areas of Fairfax County, median rental prices were Annandale: $1,843 for one-bedroom units/$2,103 for two bedrooms, Centreville: $2,076/$2,411, Fair Oaks: $2,223/$2,485, Herndon: $1,811/$2,173, Merrifield: $2,335/$2,870, Reston: $2,186/$2,315.
Median rents in Tysons were up 2.5 percent year-over-year. For the D.C. region as a whole, September’s median rental rate of $2,196 was up 3.5 percent year-over-year. The lowest median rent among regional locales was in Frederick, Maryland, at $1,642. Year-over-year, the greatest increase in rents occurred in Leesburg (up 10.7 percent) while at the other end of the scale, Wheaton saw a decline of 1.8 percent. Nationally, September’s median rent was $1,405.
Fairfax Co. Launches Speed Camera Program
Last year, Fairfax County launched the Speed Camera Pilot Program where 10 speed cameras were installed across the County. “The objective of this program was to change driver behavior and promote safer roadways throughout the county,” according to Board of Supervisors chair Jeff McKay. The pilot results showed that the average speeds dropped by as much as 27 percent in nearly every test location, thus improving safety in each of the impacted school zones, McKay reported.
Given the pilot success, the county will be installing additional speed cameras throughout the county. The first phase will consist of 50 cameras installed in FY2026, with the goal of installing 10 cameras per month for five months. The first 10 camera installations of phase 1 are coming soon!
F.C. Forward Pitches “Leave the Leaves’
The Falls Church Forward civil group this last week has launched its “Leave the Leaves” campaign with fliers delivered door-to-door to residents throughout the Little City. The fliers urge citizens not to rake or blow off all their leaves, but to allow them to become natural additives to the soil to “promote soil health, serve as butterfly and firefly habitats and enhance environmental sustainability.”
The group notes on its website that “Falls Church City spent $250,000 on new leaf vacuums and expects to spend another $195,000 to vacuum and store leaves. The City already has two years of excess leaf mulch taking up valuable space in our public works depot. By reducing the burden on the city to collect leaves, we can spend tax dollars on other important services.”
A virtual forum is slated for Oct. 20 with expert landscapers and gardeners for the how-to’s of this new approach, and citizens can sign up on the group’s website at fallschurchforward.org.
