Waiting to vote in a Firehouse Primary, Fairfax County Offices, 24 June 2025.
Some political thoughts.
Some weeks ago our Congressperson died, and we have been without a Representative in the House of Representatives at a particularly awful time with the Magatpartei gaining a temporarily enlarged majority. The Magat governor of Virginia is responsible for setting election dates and conditions (but thankfully not for naming an interim Representative as in some states). The Magat Youngkin, working diligently to suppress voting, a basic goal of that extremist ideology, decided on a so-called Firehouse Primary. Almost unique to Virginia and rarely used, a Firehouse Primary is run by and paid for by the parties wishing to field candidates. The parties can either run a primary or decide in caucus their candidate for the final election. The Magatpartei has ample funds and not much competition to be on the ballot, so its selection will be by caucus, a cheap way to select a candidate, and one which all but insures only a few citizens who are faithful supporters of the extremist ideology will be involved in the selection.
The Democrats, on the other hand, attract a majority vote in Virginia’s 11th Congressional District but are not particularly wealthy as a party. The Firehouse Primary is expensive and difficult to arrange in a short period. Before Firehouse voters are a number of interesting candidates, most of them not well-known who had a very brief window to introduce themselves and campaign. To its credit, the Democratic Party in the District managed to arrange a primary, but it is one which requires direct participation not using the standard electoral mechanisms and voting locations in the Jurisdictions (Fairfax City, Fairfax County, and Falls Church City) covered by the 11th District. Early voters must go to the Fairfax County Office Building, the only voting location and inconvenient for those who cannot drive, to vote from 3-8 pm on 24-26 June with no possibility of voting by mail. Voting in the scheduled Firehouse Primary on Saturday 28 June will be at about 20 locations in the District (compared to at least twice that number of voting locations in a State mandated election). The name Firehouse Primary comes from the need to arrange voting locations not used in normal elections, so voters will not go tho their usual polling places. All of this had to be arranged in a couple of weeks with no assistance from the state other than release of the lists of registered voters. While the Democrats worked hard to try to ensure voting rights, the party was severely constrained by finance and regulation, and many votes will be suppressed in consequence.
All of that by way of explaining a tedious experience but one that was at the same time uplifting. Yesterday afternoon, in 36 degree outdoor temperatures, my wife and I went to the County Offices to vote early. We were sent to the end of a long (air conditioned) hallway to queue behind hundreds of others. It took over an hour to reach the room where voting took place. The situation was orderly and people in the line were convivial showing an enthusiasm for the election, an important one for us but also for the nation, which helped raise my very gloomy political spirits. These, at least, were not put off by the bizarre process and wished to participate in the selection of a new Congressperson, to exercise their right to vote. And many thanks must go to the volunteers who helped keep the lines moving. In a standard election, those who work the crowds and tables are paid government employees.
The Magat governor had several choices in setting a process for replacement of the Representative. The selection could have been incorporated into an already scheduled primary election for state offices, including Youngkin’s replacement as governor held a short time ago, or a true primary could have used the election officials and run on the normal procedures, but that may have attracted too many voters. A final election has also been set for an inconvenient date in early September, but that of necessity will be a normal state sanctioned election.
Free elections are a common target of fascists. Sometimes they can be dispensed with entirely, but better by far is a controlled election where the reliable few dutifully vote the party line. The glorious leader can then claim 98 per cent voted for him (thus far it has always been a man).
