October 2, 2021

Neighbors, 

I hope you are enjoying the start of Fall! Included in this newsletter is information about:

  • Early Voting

  • COVID-19

    • Update on Boosters

    • QR Codes to Digitally Verify Vaccination

  • Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board Virtual Session

  • Redistricting Update

As always, let me know if you have questions or need assistance by calling my office at (804) 698-1042 or emailing me at DelKTran@house.virginia.gov. 

Best, Kathy

Kathy KL Tran

Delegate, 42nd District 

Early Voting Continues in Fairfax County

Early Voting In-Person

Early voting continues in Fairfax County. You can now vote early in-person at three places in Fairfax County:

​LOCATION

Fairfax County Government Center

12000 Government Center Pkwy

Conference Rooms 2/3, Fairfax 22035

Mount Vernon Governmental Center

2511 Parkers Ln, Alexandria 22306

North County Governmental Center

1801 Cameron Glen Dr, Reston 20190

The locations are open at the following times:

Weekdays:

  • Fairfax County Government Center 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

  • All other locations 12:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Saturday (September 18th)

  • 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Saturday (October 23rd, and October 30th)

  • All locations  9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Sunday (October 24th)

  • All locations 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Don’t live in Fairfax County? You can check where you can early vote here: https://iwillvote.com/ 

Vote by Mail

You can vote by mail by requesting a ballot online or by sending in a paper vote-by-mail application. 

Follow this link to apply for a vote-by-mail ballot online. To apply for an online ballot online, you will need your Social Security number and a Virginia Driver's License or a Virginia DMV-issued ID number.

To apply for a vote-by-mail ballot using a paper application, download, print, and fill out a vote-by-mail application. 

After you finish filling out the application, you can Submit it using one of these methods:

  • Scan, then email it to AbsenteeBallot@fairfaxcounty.gov

  • Mail it to: Fairfax County Office of Elections P.O. Box 10161, Fairfax, VA 22038

  • Fax it to 703-324-3725

  • Or hand deliver it to Fairfax County Office of Elections, 12000 Government Center Pkwy, Suite 323, Fairfax, VA 22035

Please note that your absentee ballot application must be received by the Fairfax Office of Elections 11 days prior to Election Day, October 22. You can always check the status of your ballot here.

COVID-19 

Pfizer Booster Shots

The CDC and FDA are recommending COVID-19 booster shots for some individuals. At the moment, the boosters are only available for those who received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. 

The Pfizer vaccine booster is available to the following categories of people if they had their initial series of shots greater than six months ago:

  • 65 years and older

  • Age 18+ who live in long-term care settings

  • Age 18+ who have underlying medical conditions

  • Age 18+ who work in high-risk settings

  • Age 18+ who live in high-risk settings

You can find a booster shot location by:

  • Searching https://www.vaccines.gov/ 

  • Texting your ZIP code to 438829

  • Calling 1-800-232-0233 to find locations near you

  • Calling your local pharmacy to see if they have boosters available

As always, if you have questions about your eligibility to get a booster, contact your health care provider.

QR Codes to Digitally Verify Vaccination

Virginia is the fifth state to implement the SMART Health system for QR codes. 

To use the system, go to https://vaccinate.virginia.gov/ and sign up to get a QR code that you can save to your phone. Then you can use that QR code to verify that you’ve been vaccinated for COVID-19.

To learn more, visit the Fairfax County Government Emergency Preparedness, Response and Recovery website.

Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board Virtual Session

I attended the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board Virtual Session on Wednesday. The board gave us an overview of their 2022 legislative priorities and budget. 

As I noted previously, in August, I voted to support allocating $238 million in federal funds received through the American Rescue Plan to strengthen Virginia’s mental health system. I will continue to push for additional resources for these important services.

Redistricting

Hearings start tomorrow on the Virginia Redistricting Commission’s proposed redrawn maps for the General Assembly. 

You can see the proposed maps and find out more information, including how to view the hearings, on the Virginia Redistricting Commission’s website.

The public hearings on the proposed maps are broken up by regions. They are:

  • October 4, 2021, 10:00 a.m. (Southwest Region)

  • October 4, 2021. 4:00 p.m. (Northern Virginia) 

  • October 5, 2021, 10:00 a.m. (Southside) 

  • October 5, 2021, 4:00 p.m. (Hampton Roads) 

  • October 6, 2021, 10:00 a.m. (Eastern) 

  • October 6, 2021, 4:00 p.m. (Central) 

  • October 7, 2021, 10:00 a.m. (Valley) 

  • October 7, 2021, 4:00 p.m. (West Central)

The map makers must abide by factors given to them by the Commission. You can see all the criteria here.

The Commission must submit one map to the General Assembly in one week, by Sunday, October 10. If they can’t agree on one map, the Virginia Constitution gives them two additional weeks to agree to a map. If they can’t come to an agreement, the lines will be redrawn by the Virginia Supreme Court.