McLean Voter Survival Guide for Today's Elections

Please vote today. The entire Virginia General Assembly, the entire Fairfax Board of Supervisors, the entire Fairfax County school board will be decided in today's elections.

Only about  a third of registered voters cast ballots in a year when there is no presidential or gubernatorial candidate at the top of the ticket so your vote is huge.

1. Polls open from 6am.-7 pm.

2. Before you leave for the polls, look at the voter registration card the Fairfax County Board of Elections sent you one last week. That card is on the back of a pamphlet you received headlined: Important Voting Materials Enclosed. That card is your lifeline for this election.

It tells you where you vote. Even if you've voted for 20 years in the same place, there is a huge chance you have a new voting place. You don't want to go to the wrong voting precinct. Here's an easy link to find your polling place.

If you can't find your card, or think there is a mistake, call the county's Elections Office at 703-222-0776 right away. They are very friendly and will help you.

3. Cameron Quinn, head of the Fairfax County elections office advises: If the polling place does NOT have your name, ask the election officers to let you locate your house on the precinct map posted in the polling place. If it isn’t on the map, you may not be in the correct polling place.  Ask to talk to the Chief or Assistant Chief Election Official to straighten this out before you try to vote a ballot.
 
Because of redistricting, ask the election officers to let you view the sample ballot posted in the polling place.   If the posted sample ballot does not list candidates you thought you would be voting for, or if the ballot you receive does not match the sample ballot, ask to talk to the Chief or Assistant Chief Election Official to straighten this out before you vote a ballot.  

4. Number of eligible to vote in Fairfax County: 696,491. No breakdown by Democrats and Republicans because voters aren't registered by party in Virginia.

5. Number of  precincts in Fairfax: 239 precincts.

6. Fairfax turnout for off year* elections : 2007 – 33.3 percent. 2003 – 32.8 percent. That means your vote is hugely important.

McLean Patch will have up-to-minute election results for McLean candidates throughout the evening and you can comment on the results.

McLean's Senate Candidates:

31st District

Caren D. Merrick - R
caren@carenmerrick.com

Barbara A. Favola - D
favolaforsenate@gmail.com

32nd District

Patrick N. Forrest - R
patrick@forrest2011.com

Janet D. Howell - D
senhowell@gmail.com

McLean House Candidates: 34th District

Barbara J. Comstock - R
info@comstockfordelegate.com

Pamela B. Danner - D
pbdanner@ideamatics.net

35th District

Mark L. Keam - D
mark.keam@gmail.com

Keam is running unopposed.

48th District

Robert H. Brink - D
delbrink@comcast.net

Janet Murphy - IG
janet.murphy@LNF.com

Kathy D. Gillette-Mallard - I
kathymallard48vahd@hotmail.com

Dranesville Supervisor

Dennis D. Husch - R
dh4ds@dhusch.com

John W. Foust - D
supervisorfoust@gmail.com

SCHOOL BOARD

Seven candidates are running for at-large seats on the Fairfax County school board. In addition, voters will choose school board representatives for the Dranesville district. School board candidate do not run as Democrats and Republicans.

At-Large Candidates

Sheree A. Brown-Kaplan (, )
Lin-Dai Y. Kendall ()
Lolita I. Mancheno-Smoak (, )
Ryan L. McElveen (, )
Ilryong Moon (, )
Steven M. F. Stuban (, )
Theodore J. "Ted" Velkoff (, )

Dranesville School Board Member

Louise K. Epstein
lepstein@cox.net

Jane K. "Janie" Strauss
jkstrauss@cox.net

Other Important Links   

• Frequently Asked Questions on Voter Information Cards
• Sample Ballots
• How to Use Voting Machines (videos available in multiple languages)
• Maps of Districts and Precincts
• Services for People with Disabilities
• Office of Elections  703-222-0776, TTY 711.

*Off year -- When there is no Virginia statewide office (like governor) nor U.S. presidential election to rouse occasional voters to the polls.