Fairfax County adds 13 voting centers as early ballots surge in Virginia

Over a million have voted in Maryland and Virginia

13 new voting centers have opened in Fairfax County for in-person early voting. As of Thursday, more than 800,000 people in Virginia have either voted in person or by a mail-in ballot. Early voting in Virginia began on Sept. 20. FOX 5's Lili Zheng has the story.

FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. - 13 new voting centers have opened in Fairfax County for in-person early voting.

As of Thursday, more than 800,000 people in Virginia have either voted in person or by a mail-in ballot. Early voting in Virginia began on Sept. 20.

The McLean Governmental Center was one of the 13 sites that opened Thursday for early voting.

"We have been voting here for many years. We live very close to here, and we just walk right here. Usually, we don’t come on the first day," one voter said.

Carmen Palumbo came with her family to vote early.

"I guess immigration is a big important issue right now and student loan debt. I just graduated from law school," Palumbo said.

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How to vote early in Virginia

Early voting is underway in Virginia – the first state in the nation to allow in-person early voting in the 2024 presidential election.

Estefania Eblan was one of the first in line to cast her ballot Thursday.

"I feel like it’s a lot of issues around immigration, education. Just allowing a diverse range of people to be able to live, the issues around food, and safety. There’s just so much that’s bringing me out to make sure my vote counts," Eblan said.

More than 1 million people have cast their votes early between Maryland and Virginia, combined. More than 200,000 voters in Maryland have cast their ballots via mail, with in-person early voting beginning on Oct. 24.

In DC, in-person early voting begins on Oct. 28.

Prof. Todd Belt, Director of Political Management at George Washington University, said early voting numbers used to help indicate political trends pre-pandemic. However, early voting has changed a lot, Prof. Belt said.

"There are a few analyses that are showing the gap between democrats and republicans voting early has gotten smaller, but one of the things we know about democrats is they tend to vote later than republicans," Belt said. "All of these absentee ballots haven’t been counted yet, and there’s still quite a bit of time for people to do that. We know democrats vote later in the day than republicans, so maybe the democrats are just going to catch up."

The economy remains a top issue for voters, Belt said.

"The only difference is this is the primary focus on the inflation aspect to the economy. Even though inflation has come down to 2.4%, people are still paying more. That’s the number one issue," he explained.