Politics
NEW: Virginia Republicans Sound The Alarm Over ‘Flawed’ Ballots
The Republican committee in Fairfax County, Virginia, a longtime blue stronghold in the state’s north, is accusing the county Office of Elections of distributing thousands of “flawed” ballots ahead of multiple closely watched elections.
Fairfax GOP Chair Katie Gorka sent election officials a formal letter alleging “a MASSIVE election security scandal” in the county.
“As of October 15, 2025, 84,062 voters had been sent absentee ballots, 77,583 in the U.S. Of these ballots which were sent, 29,106 ballots had been returned by mail and 3,366 by dropbox, with 495 absentee ballot recipients voting in-person instead. As a result, a large number of incidents may have occurred resulting in violations of the secrecy of ballots,” Gorka wrote.
She went on to state that the greatest risk comes from mail-in-voting. “The United States Postal Service’s performance is insecure for elections, as noted by Department of Elections Commissioner Susan Beals on September 4, 2024, in her testimony to the General Assembly Privileges and Elections Committee: ‘If I had to name what my biggest concern is for the 2024 general election, it would be the operational performance of the United States Postal Service,'” the letter continued.
In the letter, Gorka warned that the envelope could expose voters’ selections — specifically for Republican Attorney General candidate Jason Miyares — potentially violating ballot secrecy laws. The committee concluded by urging election officials to take immediate corrective action, including notifying voters, advising them to vote in person when possible, and ensuring all ballots remain secure and confidential.
“We request that the Fairfax County Office of Elections acknowledge receiving our official complaint and inform the public as to the next steps they will take to secure the election,” the letter concluded.
These envelope hole punches allow ballot counters and Fairfax County election officials to see into ballots – marked … with Virginia GOP candidates.
It’s right there for you to see. @FairfaxDems cheat in front of your face. https://t.co/kmZp8ADNLf pic.twitter.com/U93T9KEhP0
— NOVA Campaigns (@NoVA_Campaigns) October 16, 2025
Virginia allows a 45-day early voting period that began on September 19. The mail-in-ballot request deadline is October 24, while early voting runs through November 1, three days before Election Day.
As is often the case in the year following a presidential election, elections in Virginia and New Jersey are often in the national spotlight. This is true in 2025, as the gubernatorial contest between Democratic Party nominee Abigail Spanberger and Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears has received significant national coverage.
The state’s attorney general race has been even more closely watched, however, as Jay Jones, the Democrat nominee, generated national outrage following the emergence of leaked text messages in which he fantasized about murdering his political opponents and their children. The scandal has sent Jones’ campaign into a tailspin, as Republican incumbent Jason Miyares has flipped the polling average after trailing by 10 percentage points just two months ago,
