Massive Early Voting Here Matches National Trend

The most happening place to be in Falls Church this month is at City Hall in the corridor in front of the Voter Registrar’s office, as over a third of the City’s registered voters have already shown up there to cast their ballots, or to mail them in, in this U.S. presidential and Senate/House and Falls Church City Council special election which culminates in less than two weeks. This is according to the City’s voter registrar David Bjerke, who was manning the polling spot in front of his office during the noon hour Wednesday.

There is no indication the pace of the early voting will slow as the Nov. 5 final election day approaches. The trend here conforms with what’s going on nationally as over 17 million Americans across the U.S. have already voted in states where it’s allowed.

While there are reports that more registered Democrats than Republicans have voted early, there is no indication who they are actually voting for.

On the City of Falls Church ballot, the column for president and vice-president dominates one side of the two-page ballot, topped by Democratic Party electors for Kamala D. Harris, president, and Tim Walz, vice president, and Republican Party electors for Donald J. Trump, president, and JD Vance, vice president, and five minor party or independent slates.

For the U.S. Senate, incumbent Democrat Timothy M. Kaine is up against Republican Hung Cao, and for the U.S. House of Representatives in the 8th District, incumbent Democrat Donald S. Beyer Jr. is pitted against Republican Jerry W. Torres and two independents.

But the election more on the minds of Falls Church voters is the special one on the ballot to fill the seat on the Falls Church City Council that became vacant this summer with the resignation of Carolina Lian.
In that contest, former two-term F.C. School Board chair Laura T. Downs is facing off against former F.C. Board of Zoning Appeals chair John B. Murphy.

Finally, Anne H. Sherwood is running unopposed to fill a vacancy on the F.C. School Board created by the relocation out of the City of board member David Ortiz.

There is one constitutional amendment also on the ballot that asks if the Constitution of Virginia should be modified such that tax exemptions enjoyed by surviving spouses of soldiers killed in action should also be provided to surviving spouses of soldiers who died in the line of duty.

(The News-Press has endorsed the Harris-Walz slate, Sen. Kaine, Rep. Beyer and former School Board chair Downs).

In the local City Council special election, both Murphy and Downs have been campaigning actively, with more of their signs planted on lawns around town than for any other races, with the possible exception of Harris-Walz. Both were also active participants in two face-to-face debates, one co-hosted by the Falls Church chapter of the League of Women Voters and the other by the F.C. Chamber of Commerce and reported in depth in the News-Press.

Both Downs and Murphy reported in exclusive comments to the News-Press this week that they believe their campaigns are going well.

In his comments to the News-Press, Murphy said, “The compressed campaign has been a very busy period. Learning about election rules, campaign finance issues, designing and arranging for printed materials, signs, designing my own website, and creating an Instagram account have all been great experiences. I have met many people in the City and have had a number of residents volunteer to help spread the word. I have been very encouraged by the reception and support that I have received.
“I have experienced a positive response from residents when knocking on doors. I have more requests for yard signs than I can fulfill. Both forums have resulted in new donations and supporters. I’m seeing a very positive response to my campaign.

“Beyond door knocking and other campaigning, I continue to volunteer in the City from activities like the Fall Clean-up, arranging a truck and two young men to move furniture for Welcoming Falls Church, creating a recycling poster for the Scout House to make sure the proper items go in the proper bins, working with the Elections Board to validate the City voting machines and ballots, to responding to a large number of inquiries from organizations and individuals in the City. I’ve attended meetings set up by residents in local neighborhoods to get to know me. It is a very busy time and I am happy to go all out for the community that I love.”

In her comments to the News-Press, Downs said, “The campaign has been going well. I have been door-knocking every day. I’ve talked to many residents from all walks of life. Overall, people seem excited about the new development, grocery stores, and restaurants and understand that commercial tax revenue will help keep personal property taxes in check. The number one complaint/comment I have received is about traffic congestion, speeding, motorists running red stop signs, cut-through traffic, and pedestrian safety. If elected, I will definitely try my best to focus on those areas.

“This campaign has been much different than my School Board campaign in 2019 due to the very early voting start date of September 20th and the last-minute election, not being certified for the ballot until late August. The compressed and early timeline forced me to spend more money earlier on to try to get information to the voters by September 20th. In a regular campaign, I don’t think the September 20th date would matter as I could spend the summer door-knocking, but in this situation, I had basically three weeks to get my name, experience, and platform out there before people started going to the polls.”