Manassas Election Day Voter Guide: Key Races, How To Vote

MANASSAS, VA — Tuesday, Nov. 5, marks the 2024 general election, where voters in the City of Manassas will cast votes for president and local races along with other key decisions.

All voters in Manassas will have president/vice president, 10th Congressional District, U.S. Senate, Manassas mayor, three Manassas City Council seats, four Manassas School Board seats and Virginia constitutional amendment on the ballot.

Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, but anyone in line by 7 p.m. will be able to vote.

Key Races On the November Ballot

Along with the closely-watched presidential race between Kamala Harris, Donald Trump and third-party candidates, there are several key races in Manassas.

In the mayoral race, Democratic Mayor Michelle Davis-Younger is seeking re-election against Republican challenger Xiao-Yin "Tang" Byrom. Mayors serve four-year terms in the City of Manassas.

Davis-Younger, who was previously elected to the city council in 2019, also ran the human resources consulting firm The1ForHR, LLC. Davis-Younger's campaign website outlines priorities like boosting smart technology in local government, promoting economic development, expanding attainable housing, boosting mental health support, and promoting environmentally-friendly initiatives.

Byrom is owner of Tang's Bridal Alterations & Bespoke Her campaign priorities shared in a candidate profile include improving the public school system, recruiting and retaining staff, and addressing public safety.

There are three Manassas City Council seats up for election. Ashley Hutson, Tom Osina, Mark Wolfe are the Democratic candidates who won the Democratic primary, while the Republican Party nominated Robyn Williams, Lynn Forkell Greene and Stephen Kent as its candidates.

Four at-large school board seats are up for election this year. Candidates include Christina Brooks, Diana Brown, Allie Forkell, Javanese Hailey, Zella Jones, Dayna-Marie Miles, Suzanne Seaberg and Maidy Whitesell. Brooks and Seaberg are incumbents seeking re-election, and the other six candidates would be newcomers to the School Board.

Democratic-endorsed candidates are Seaberg, Brown, and Jones. Republican-endorsed candidates are Forkell, Hailey, Miles and Whitesell.

In the 10th Congressional District, Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-Loudoun) did not seek re-election after receiving a progressive supra-nuclear palsy diagnosis. Democrat Suhas Subramanyam and Republican Mike Clancy won their party's primaries to face off in the general election.

The 10th congressional district is labeled as a competitive district, according to the Virginia Public Access Project. The district covers Loudoun County, part of Prince William County, part of Fairfax County, Fauquier County, Manassas City, Manassas Park City, and Rappahannock County.

Subramanyam, a current Virginia state senator representing part of Loudoun County, has campaign priorities like protecting abortion rights, gun safety restrictions, health care access and affordability, environmental protection and more.

Clancy, who has worked as a lawyer and business executive, outlined campaign priorities such as inflation and boosting the economy, addressing border security, fully funding law enforcement, supporting gun owner rights and more.

Along with the 10th Congressional District race, voters will have the U.S. Senate between Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine and Republican Hung Cao.

Kaine was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2012 after serving elected roles since 1994, including Virginia governor. According to his campaign website, Kaine's priorities include job creation and the economy, protecting reproductive rights, health care affordability, border security, supporting immigration reform, supporting equal rights, protecting the climate and more.

Cao is a Navy veteran who unsuccessfully challenged incumbent Democrat Jennifer Wexton in the 2022 race for Virginia's 10th congressional district. His campaign priorities include border security, supporting the economy through energy and manufacturing policies, supporting school choice, supporting strong national defense, protecting gun rights, opposing abortion and more.

What's on the Ballot

President/Vice President

• Democratic Party Electors for Kamala Harris, President, and Tim Walz, Vice President
• Republican Party Electors for Donald Trump, President, and JD Vance, Vice President
• Green Party Electors for Jill Stein, President, and Rudolph Ware II, Vice President
• Libertarian Party Electors for Chase Oliver, President, and Mike ter Maat, Vice President
• Independent Electors for Claudia De la Cruz, President, and Karina Garcia, Vice President
• Independent Electors for Cornel West, President, and Melina Abdullah, Vice President

Member, U.S. Senate

• Timothy Kaine - Democrat
• Hung Cao - Republican

Member, U.S. House of Representatives, 10th District

• Suhas Subramanyam - Democrat
• Mike Clancy - Republican

Mayor

• Michelle Davis-Younger
• Xiao-Yin "Tang" Byrom

Member, City Council (up to three)

• Ashley Hutson
• Tom Osina
• Mark Wolfe
• Lynn Forkell Greene
• Stephen Kent
• Robyn Williams

Member, School Board (up to four)

• Suzanne Seaberg
• Christina Brooks
• Diana Brown
• Zella Jones
• Maidy Whitesell
• Javanese Hailey
• Dayna-Marie Miles
• Allie Forkell

Virginia Constitutional Amendment Question

Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended so that the tax exemption that is currently available to the surviving spouses of soldiers killed in action is also available to the surviving spouses of soldiers who died in the line of duty?

How to Vote

The deadline for voter registration or updating your address was Oct. 15. However, same-day registration with a provisional ballot is offered from Oct. 16 through Election Day, Nov. 5.

If you are completing a mail-in ballot, it must be returned to the Manassas Voter Registration and Elections Office by 7 p.m. on Nov. 5 or postmarked by Nov. 5 and received in the office by noon on Nov. 8. Voters may return their completed ballot by mail or a drop box. A secure outdoor drop box is available 24/7 outside the Manassas Voter Registration and Elections Office until 7 p.m. on Nov. 5.

To vote on Election Day, visit your assigned polling place between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 5. An acceptable form of ID is required to vote in person. Voters without an acceptable form of ID can sign a statement affirming their identity to cast a ballot. Rides to the polls are available from the Democratic or Republican parties.

Voters can confirm their registration status and polling place through the Virginia Department of Elections citizens portal. The Manassas elections office also has a list and map of its five polling places.

After polls close at 7 p.m. on Nov. 5, preliminary election results will be tallied on the Virginia Department of Elections website. When results start coming in, Patch will provide coverage of the Manassas local races as well as other key races in Northern Virginia.

For more information on the upcoming election and voting in Manassas, visit the Manassas Voter Registration and Elections Office website. If you live in Prince William County, visit www.pwcvotes.org.