Election Ahead: Primary Election Aug. 23

You might want to vote in the Aug. 23 primary before you leave for vacation.

Yes there's a primary Aug. 23 and half of McLean residents can vote. Two Democrats are vying against each other in an ugly campaign to be the candidate in the 31st Senate District. You have until Aug. 16 to apply for an absentee ballot.

Many McLean neighbors are receiving phone calls from candidates they've never heard of because the politicians in Richmond rejiggered the boundaries of every Virginia House and Senate district to protect incumbents of both parties.

Who represents McLean now? McLean is now divided into three House Districts and two Senate Districts.

House of Delegates

34th District: Del. Barbara Comstock, Republican.

35th District. Del. Mark Keam, Democrat.

48th District: Del. Bob Brink, Democrat.

Virginia Senate

31st District: This is McLean's only primary contest.

McLean has been laced together with Arlington in the reconfigured district. Sen. Margaret Whipple, the incumbent, is retiring.

Barbara A. Favola, a long-time member of the Arlington County board, is running against political newcomer Jaime Areizaga-Soto, an attorney with an appointment to the U.S. Agency for International Development.

The winner will face Caren Merrick, a McLean businesswoman and a Republican.

32nd District. Janet Howell, Democrat.

Previously McLean was represented by one state senator, Janet Howell, and two Delegates, Comstock and Jim Scott, a Democrat. Scott's 53rd district no longer includes McLean.

The boundaries for the House of Delegates and Senate districts were changed because of redistricting, which occurs every 10 years and is based on the U.S. Census results.

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Absentee Voting

By Mail Ballot: Deadline to apply for an absentee ballot by mail: Aug. 16 at 5p.m. For inclusion in the election, absentee ballots must be received in the Office of Elections by 7 p.m. on Aug. 23.

In-Person Absentee:  

Location: Fairfax County Government Center, 12000 Government Center Parkway, Suite 323, Fairfax, Va. 22035 (no off-site satellites)

Dates/Hours:

July 8-Aug. 20

MONDAY, TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY, FRIDAY, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.;  
THURSDAYS 8 a.m.-7 p.m.
SATURDAY, AUG, 20, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. (last day to vote absentee in-person)