The Prince William County Office of Elections held its first-ever open house to educate the public about the election process. With early voting beginning in about 35 days, the event was intended to provide transparency and allow attendees to understand how elections are managed and secured.

More than 300 people signed up for the 45-minute tour, during which the public learned about the office’s mission, voter registration, equipment preparation, voting by mail, results reporting, and election officer staffing. Each segment offered an overview and practical demonstrations.

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Washington Free Beacon: “Something funny happened when the Washington Free Beacon contacted the campaign of Trump whistleblower turned congressional candidate Eugene Vindman last week. Vindman, a 24-year Army veteran, says he “served our nation in combat.” A 2019 Daily Mail piece said he “has not seen combat.” The Free Beacon asked the campaign to explain the discrepancy.

Vindman’s campaign manager, Jeremy Levinson, responded by introducing a third party, the employee of a political action committee. “All future questions,” he said, could be directed to him.”

Vindman, a Democrat, is running to replace Abigail Spanberger, who represents eastern Prince William County, Stafford and Spotsylvania counties, and Fredricksburg. Republican Derrick Anderson is also vying for the seat.

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A Manassas City School Board Candidate Forum will occur on August 19, 2024, at Bristoe Station Park. The event will begin with a Meet & Greet session at 6:30 p.m., followed by the forum at 7 p.m. The forum is open to parents, teachers, students, and community members.

The event will be held at 9118 Wharton Court and live-streamed. All Manassas School Board candidates, including Zella Jones, Suzanne Seaberg, Allie Forkell, Dayna Miles, Maidy Whitesell, Diana Brown, Javanese Hailey, and Christina Brooks, have been invited.

Democrats endorse Seaberg (incumbent), Jones, and Brown. Republicans endorse Forkell, Miles, Whitsell, and Hailey. Brooks (incumbent) is running as an independent.

For more information, contact the organizers via email at [email protected].

Last week, the school board chose not to feature regular attendance reports during regular school board meetings. Republican-endorsed members argued for transparency, while board members endorsed by Democrats voted no.

They expressed hesitation with monthly attendance reports for many reasons, and Board Member Jill Spall said releasing this information to the public may be harmful because it could bring negative labels to schools.

See more of our Manassas schools coverage.

 

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As early voting for the fall 2024 election approaches, Potomac Local News is dedicated to informing the community about candidates vying for one of three open seats on the Manassas City Council and the mayor’s seat. To help voters make an informed decision, we are continuing a new feature series, “One-Question Manassas City Council Candidate Survey.” This series will run throughout the campaign season, offering insights into each candidate’s stand on key issues affecting our city. Our third one, which ran on Aug. 6, focused on city management and staff retention.

The candidates are given 10 days to respond to a Google Form, and their answers will be compiled into a single post on PotomacLocalNews.com. This format lets voters quickly compare the candidates’ views on critical issues, helping them make an informed choice come election day.

Today’s topic: Commercial airline services.

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Eugene Vindman, the Democrat running to replace Abigail Spanberger, delivered a campaign speech to about 35 veterans during an invitation-only rally at Garrison Park in Dumfries. 

Vindman sought to energize his base and draw a contrast with his Republican opponent, Derek Anderson, in the closely watched race for Virginia’s 7th Congressional District, which includes Fredericksburg, Stafford, and Woodbridge. With only 84 days until Election Day, Vindman emphasized the stakes of the upcoming election, framing it as a critical moment for the nation and the community.

In his speech, the retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel invoked his personal story as an immigrant who arrived in the U.S. with his family, possessing little more than the hope of achieving the American dream. “The stakes in this election couldn’t be higher,” Vindman said, underscoring his belief that the very essence of that dream is on the line. He criticized the rhetoric coming from the Republican Party, likening it to what one might hear in authoritarian regimes such as North Korea, Iran, or Russia. Vindman argued that such narratives undermine the fundamental values that make the United States great.

Vindman’s message was tailored to national issues and specific concerns in the 7th District, including Northern Virginia communities such as Woodbridge and Dale City. “When I had the opportunity to retire, I chose to retire here in Northern Virginia,” Vindman said, describing his newfound connection to the area where he and his wife, Cindy, chose to live after he left the military in 2022.

Vindman’s brother, Retired Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, made headlines for his testimony during the 2019 impeachment hearings of President Donald Trump after he reported concerns about President Trump’s dealings with Ukraine after hearing Trump’s call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy while serving on the National Security Council.

Eugene Vindman addressed challenges related to Interstate 95, a major transportation artery in the region. He called for improvements to make it multimodal and accept trains and buses to shuttle commuters to Washington, D.C. He also spoke about the importance of maintaining high-quality schools for his family and all families in the district. 

The topic of education led Vindman to denounce efforts by some in the district to ban and even burn books, specifically mentioning Stafford County School district banning several gender-bending books some parents decried as pornographic: “They want to cover up our history, and that’s just plain unacceptable,” Vindman declared.

A Vindman media relations manager denied a request to make Vindman available for press questions at this event. 

Vindman’s speech also touched on Project 2025, an initiative championed by the non-profit Heritage Foundation that he described as a “significant threat to the social safety net.” Vindman erroneously tied Project 2025 with Republican candidates and his opponent instead of the non-profit think tank that authored it.

Vindman emphasized the potential economic impact of eliminating 50,000 civil service jobs. “Can you imagine those high-paying civil service jobs being eliminated or moved out? What would that do to this economy? How would that devastate this economy?” Vindman asked rhetorically to the group.

Despite Vindman’s assertions, Anderson has not backed Project 2025. In a statement to the Washington Post, Anderson said that he does “not support any initiatives that will hurt national security.” An Anderson campaign spokesman said, “This is not something our campaign has ever talked about. Derrick Anderson has been clear that he always places the needs of the country over party, anything that will negatively affect families in VA-07 won’t be supported, and he encourages voters to fact check [Vindman’s] claims.”

Throughout his speech, Vindman attempted to draw a line between him and Anderson, an Army Green Beret, whom he accused of being “bought and paid for by MAGA.” Anderson is a decorated Army Green Beret with six overseas deployments across Iraq, Afghanistan, Jordan, Lebanon, Israel, and Bahrain.

Vindman pointed to the difference in campaign donations as evidence of their differing loyalties, noting that his average donation is just $27, while Anderson’s financial support comes from “Ultra MAGA” sources. Vindman argued that Anderson would vote in line with those interests if elected, to the detriment of the district and the nation.

Vindman did not mention the ongoing controversy of purported unauthorized small-dollar donations linked to the Democrat fundraising platform ActBlue. These so-called small-dollar donations appear as grass-roots support, but many donors claim to have never authorized those donations. 

According to the Federal Elections Commission (FEC), Barbara Staples, a Springhill, Texas retiree, purportedly made 53 small-dollar donations to ActBlue in a single day and 1,600 other donation transactions since 2022. The FEC website shows five small-dollar contributions on June 16, 2024. When asked, Staples said she hadn’t made any donations. 

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyaras announced an investigation into these allegedly fraudulent donations by ActBlue earlier this month, joining a list of state Attorneys General investigating the organization for potential laundering of illegal foreign campaign donations.

The National Republican Congressional Committee spokeswoman Delanie Bowmar doubled down on the accusations against ActBlue donations and Vindman’s assertions of small-dollar donations, “Vindman’s campaign war chest doubles as a piggy bank for anti-Israel extremists: campaign donations go in, anti-Israel policies spew out. We know Vindman will kowtow to extremists who burn down college campuses – just check the receipts.” 

Early voting in Virginia begins September 20, 2024. The final day for in-person precinct voting is November 5, 2024. For more information on voting, elections.virginia.gov.

Governor Glenn Youngkin issued Executive Order 35, codifying his administration’s election security procedures, which include stringent ballot security, thorough counting machine testing, and rigorous voter list maintenance.

Press release:

Governor Glenn Youngkin today issued Executive Order 35, which codifies the election security procedures put into place during his administration, including stringent ballot security, complete and thorough counting machine testing, and best-in-the-nation voter list maintenance.

“The Virginia model for Election Security works. This isn’t a Democrat or Republican issue, it’s an American and Virginian issue. Every legal vote deserves to be counted without being watered down by illegal votes or inaccurate machines. In Virginia, we don’t play games and our model for election security is working,” said Governor Glenn Youngkin.

“We use 100% paper ballots with a strict chain of custody. We use counting machines, not voting machines, that are tested prior to every election and never connected to the internet. We do not mass mail ballots. We monitor our drop boxes 24/7. We verify the legal presence and identity of voters using DMV data and other trusted data sources to update our voter rolls daily, not only adding new voters, but scrubbing the lists to remove those that should not be on it, like the deceased, individuals that have moved, and non-citizens that have accidentally or maliciously attempted to register,” Governor Glenn Youngkin continued.

The EO codifies improvements to election security made during the Governor’s administration by directing the Commissioner of the Department of Elections to certify in writing annually that these improvements are in place. The EO also outlines the procedures in place for non-citizens who attempt to violate the law and register to vote, which includes referral to the local Commonwealth’s attorney and the Office of Attorney General, which has concurrent jurisdiction.

The Manassas Republican Party has issued a statement following criticism from Democrats directed at mayoral candidate Xiao-Yin "Tang" Byrom regarding her campaign colors and clothing choices.

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Editor's note: We have corrected this post, as some responses were attributed to the wrong candidate. As early voting for the fall 2024 election approaches, Potomac Local News is dedicated to informing the community about candidates vying for one of three open seats on the Manassas City Council and the mayor’s seat. To help voters make an informed decision, we are continuing a new feature series, “One-Question Manassas City Council Candidate Survey.” This series will run throughout the campaign season, offering insights into each candidate’s stand on key issues affecting our city. Our second one, which ran on July 17, focused on the budget and taxes.

The candidates are given 10 days to respond to a Google Form, and their answers will be compiled into a single post on PotomacLocalNews.com. This format lets voters quickly compare the candidates’ views on critical issues, helping them make an informed choice come election day.

Today’s topic: City management and staff. The candidates were asked:

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