2 Potential Early Voting Sites Supported By Loudoun Supervisors

ASHBURN, VA — Two Ashburn area sites are being sought as potential early voting sites by the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors after a vote Tuesday. The sites would need a public hearing before the board's final approval.

The board directed staff to pursue two potential early voting sites — University Center Campus Commons at 44927 George Washington Boulevard in Ashburn and the soon-to-open Ashburn Recreation and Community Center at 21105 Coopers Hawk Drive in Ashburn. The new Ashburn Recreation and Community Center is expected to open this summer, according to county staff.

Under the motion by Supervisor Koran Saines (D-Sterling), county staff will pursue leases for early voting sites, ideally with lease terms of two to three years. A public hearing and board approval would be required to finalize the additional early voting sites.

The board also directed staff to study the feasability of an early voting site in western Loudoun County, per an amendment by Supervisor Caleb Kershner (R-Catoctin). That would include identifying specific locations for early voting, particularly in Lovettsville and the underserved western part of the Little River District.

The vote follows an October 2024 board member initiative by Supervisor Juli Briskman (D-Algonkian) seeking an expansion of early voting sites. Loudoun County currently has four early voting sites — the Office of Elections and Voter Registration in Leesburg and satellite locations at Carver Senior Center in Purcellville, Claude Moore Recreation Center in Sterling, and Dulles South Recreation Center in South Riding. Ashburn is one of the county's most populated communities and lacks an early voting site. Supervisor districts without an early voting site include Algonkian, Ashburn, Broad Run and Little River.

County staff identified potential locations for the districts currently without an early voting site. According to staff, the University Center site in the Algonkian District has a 1,500-square-foot leased space with parking and is located along a Route 7 transit route.

County staff said the Ashburn Recreation and Community Center helps with operational efficiency by having access to the county's fiber network. The center will also have two transit routes to the Ashburn Metro station serving the site.

Other potential sites identified by staff were Loudoun Station in Ashburn near the Ashburn Metro station, a NOVA Parks property at 22377 Belmont Ridge Road in Ashburn, a space at Brambleton Town Center in Brambleton, and a space at Dulles Town Center in Sterling. Staff noted that there was no open lease space at Brambleton Town Center available now.

Saines noted that the University Center site is in the Algonkian District but would serve voters in the Broad Run and Ashburn Districts as well.

Supervisor Laura TeKrony (D-Little River) noted the Ashburn Recreation and Community Center location provides closer access to those around Brambleton Town Center. She said voters around Aldie go to the Dulles South Recreation Center early voting site. However, western areas around Middleburg remain a farther distance from early voting sites.

"The only area I would say, if we're going to look at something in the west, I would say we should look at the Little River District in the west," said TeKrony. "But I don't think that's something to do at this time, but that area is unserved in the western part of the Little River District."

General Registrar Judy Brown said the Loudoun County Office of Elections preferred Ashburn Recreation and Community Center as an early voting site.

"It's similar to the sites that we currently use. They have the capacity for us to have lots of voters come through and have a lot of check ins," said Brown. "Being in a county site, we feel we have more security. We have the county network in there, making them easier to do with other sites."

The Office of Elections supported the University Center site as well, which Deputy Director of Elections Richard Keech said would make early voting sites seven to eight miles apart.

Supervisor Matt Letourneau (R-Dulles) agreed with the elections office's two recommended sites and voiced support for a distance-based approach to selecting sites. He acknowledged the county has struggled with finding an adequate facility in western areas where gaps exist.

"To me, we got to look at, what's the distance for a resident to get one of these sites," said Letourneau. "And if it's not that far, if it's a 10-minute drive, I don't think that's a problem. I think where it's become a problem is for some residents, it's a lot further than that."

The county would be under time constraints to implement the new early voting sites for the November 2025 election. Submissions of new early voting sites would need to go to the Virginia attorney general's office by June 30, 2025. The board must establish satellite early voting offices and have state approval 105 days before an election.