Keep checking in as we bring you the Virginia 2023 election returns plus local coverage from victory parties around the Fredericksburg region.
Good evening ladies and gentlemen! The Fredericksburg Advance will be updating the election results as they are confirmed by the Virginia State Board of Elections and VPAP, as well as some local reporting from victory parties from Marty Davis and Adele Uphaus-Connor as they occur.
9:01pm | Early Voting and AB Balloting Yet to be Tallied in Key Races
An early snafu as we tally the key races. Absentee balloting and early voting have not been tallied as of yet.
Sorry for the minor heart attack, folks.
8:53pm | PROJECTION: Spotsylvania School Board Flips?
The Advance is projecting that the Spotsylvania County School Board’s conservative-led majority is set to flip despite what appears to be a successful effort from former Supervisor David Ross.
The missing precinct consists of provisional balloting (i.e. for those who forgot their voter registration card, typically consisting of a handful of voters).
8:37pm | Mackintosh, Holmes Claim Victory in Fredericksburg City Council Race
Fewer than 70 votes are separating challenger Jannan Holmes from four-term Fredericksburg City Councilman Matt Kelly as the final tally comes in this evening, with Will Mackintosh emerging as the clear favorite on Election Day.
Early voting and absentee voting have NOT been tallied as of yet.
8:08pm | Covering the Local Elections: How It Works
Good evening, friends!
So tonight will be our first go with the Threads feature on Substack, the platform which hosts the Fredericksburg Advance. Whether it works or not will be up to you… and us after it either works flawlessly or otherwise.
A few things about election returns:
The polls in Virginia close at 7pm, after which each precinct will lock its doors and begin counting the ballots in front of volunteers and observers from both political parties and campaigns.
The ballots are counted on site and verified by the election officer in charge, all under the watchful eye of observers. Once the unofficial numbers are tallied, they are reported directly to the Local Registrar Office in each locality, where they are tallied until reported to the Virginia State Board of Elections and then posted online.
Typically, most election returns are in by about 9pm for most localities. A few localities — Fairfax — are notorious for very late and meticulous returns. Which means we may not know who controls the Virginia State Senate until very early tomorrow AM.
Some precincts matter more than others and lean in different ways. For larger races such as state senate campaigns, a good or bad performance in one precinct can be a telltale of how the evening is going to go.
Republicans go into tonight having performed better with mail-in voting by about 6 points, narrowing the gulf to 66-29. On early voting, Democrats still outperformed Republicans 60-40 statewide. Election Day is a very Republican day, so watching election returns only to find out that absentee voting “swings” an election is no surprise. Whether the vaunted Youngkin early voting campaign will make an impact on the Virginia General Assembly is anyone’s guess.
Stick with us as we provide insight and some coverage of the local races tonight. We will report on them as they are called.