Alexandria Heads to the Polls for Statewide Democratic Primary

Few Virginians are expected to head to the polls Tuesday for the state Democratic primary. Only a handful of Alexandria polling places had recorded more than 100 ballots before noon.

At 11:30 a.m., 128 ballots had been cast out of more than 3,807 registered voters at George Washington Middle School. Mount Vernon Recreation had 115 ballots, and fewer had posted at the Cora Kelly and Chinquapin precincts.

Polls opened at 6 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. statewide. 

The Chinquapin precinct had its polling station moved to First Baptist Church this year because of scheduled renovations at the recreation center.  

• See: Alexandria Polling Station on the Move

Tuesday’s ballot contains just four candidates in two races—State Sen. Ralph Northam (D-Norfolk) is facing Aneesh Chopra, the first U.S. chief technology officer under President Barack Obama, for the party’s lieutenant governor nomination, while State Sen. Mark Herring (D-Loudoun) is going up against Justin Fairfax, a former federal prosecutor who worked to fight drug and human trafficking in Alexandria, for attorney general.

"With a 20-20 tie in the Virginia State Senate, the Lieutenant Governor takes on a special role in breaking some ties, so the new Lieutenant Governor will be a key player in Virginia's future," said Dak Hardwick, chairman of the Alexandria Democratic Committee. "We have two great candidates in State Senator Ralph Northam and former U.S. Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra, both of whom are excellent choices for voters."  

State Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-30th) voted shortly after 10 a.m. at Cora Kelly Recreation Center in northeast Alexandria. He is supporting Herring in the attorney general race.

“He’s going to bring professionalism back to the Attorney General’s office and he stands out on issues that I and Virginians care about, like voting rights, consumer protection and protecting individual liberties,” Ebbin said.

Herring was spotted shaking hands outside the Maury Elementary precinct Tuesday morning. 

Virginia last held a statewide June primary in 2009 and turnout was lower than 6.5 percent statement. That summer, Creigh Deeds, Terry McAuliffe (this year’s Democratic nominee for governor) and Brian Moran were all running on the Democrat's ticket for governor. Jody Wagner and Michael Signer were running for lieutenant governor, and there were several down-ballot primaries for both Democrats and Republicans. 

The last time Virginia held a June primary with only lieutenant governor and attorney general on the ballot was 2001. Fewer than 165,00 people voted in Virginia that day, a turnout rate of about 4.2 percent, according to the Virginia State Board of Elections.

• Follow the results of Tuesday's Democratic Primary on Del Ray Patch.