If you’re a Northern Virginia voter, we’ve got you covered in this guide. Margaret Barthel breaks down the issues in the gubernatorial race, and the races to watch in Loudoun, Fairfax, and Prince William counties.

The polls are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., but as long as you are in line by 7 p.m., you will be able to vote. Look up your polling place here.

Here’s what else you should know about today’s election.

The governor’s race is extremely tight, and it’s being closely watched

One of only two states to hold statewide elections the year after a presidential election, Virginia is seen as a litmus test for a president’s administration — particularly in their first year in office. Many analysts believe this year’s election will be an indicator of whether Democrats will be able to maintain control of Congress in next year’s midterms.

The gubernatorial race between Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Republican Glenn Youngkin will mark the first high-profile electoral battle since the 2020 presidential election. McAuliffe, who won a tight election in 2013 following President Barack Obama’s second-term victory, is facing razor-thin margins against Youngkin.

Most of the latest polls show them neck and neck, though Fox News has Youngkin up by 8 points. That poll remains an outlier, according to the Post.

Democrats swept control of the General Assembly in 2019, marking an historic blue wave in the commonwealth and giving the party power in the legislature and governor’s mansion. Now, they are fighting to hang on to both the governorship and the House of Delegates. High-profile party leadership — think Obama, Vice President Kamala Harris, and President Joe Biden — have made their pitch to Virginians.

Meanwhile, Republicans have been testing messaging and approaches to winning in a post-Donald Trump world. While Youngkin — an extremely wealthy venture capitalist — seemed cut from the same Brooks Brothers cloth as Mitt Romney, he’s taken a hard tack on cultural issues.

“To his Republican supporters, whether or not it’s an act isn’t really the point,” the New York Times recently explained in a story outlining Youngkin’s upward trajectory in the race. “As long as Mr. Youngkin is saying what they want to hear and signaling what they understand he cannot say out loud — running on the issue of ‘election integrity,’ for instance, rather than wholeheartedly accepting Mr. Trump’s lies about election fraud in 2020 — many conservatives see his campaign as providing a template for how to delicately embrace Trumpism in blue states.”

No matter how it ends, the lieutenant governor race will be historic

Either Del. Hala Ayala (D-Prince William County) or Winsome Sears (R) will make history as the first woman and first woman of color to hold the commonwealth’s second-highest office.

The lieutenant governor, who presides over the Senate, can break tie votes on most bills, though they cannot do so in state budgets, and the position does not have the power to introduce legislation. Current Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax (D) has cast 52 tie-breaking votes in his role, according to The Hill.

Ayala won election to Virginia’s House of Delegates in 2017, where she rose through the ranks to serve as deputy whip, helping to push through a raft of Democratic-led legislation. Sears served as a one-term delegate in the General Assembly representing Hampton Roads two decades ago. Most recently, she served as national chairperson for Black Americans to Re-Elect President Trump, according to The Washington Post.

Loudoun County has become a flashpoint

One of the wealthiest counties in the nation, Loudoun County has found itself in the national spotlight amid a series of battles centered around its public school system.

School board meetings, typically held for budget discussions and recognizing high-achieving students, became viral political flashpoints marked by anger, chaos, and new restrictions on who can attend. Most recently, LCPS’s handling of two alleged sexual assaults in its schools sparked another media frenzy and renewed parental criticism around the system’s equity initiatives.

In turn, coronavirus closures, curriculums on equity and racism, protections for transgender students, and other education issues in the Northerm Virginia county have been weaponized in the election, Colleen Grablick writes.

Conservatives particularly have focused on “critical race theory” — which the school system repeatedly has said is not part of the curriculum — and equity issues beyond the classroom, including protections for transgender students. Youngkin has seized on the controversies, rallying crowds with the phrase “parents matter.” Meanwhile, students, the local NAACP, and even Virginia’s attorney general have called for Loudoun County Public Schools to correct systemic racial discrimination within their facilities.

Poll watchers say the election is secure

It’s a process that officials say largely has remained the same for many, many years. But this year, elections officials say there’s been a renewed interest in observing elections processes at work — particularly when it comes to poll watching.

Scott Konopasek, head of elections in Virginia’s Fairfax County, tells Martin Austermuhle that he has seen a marked increase in the number of election observers and poll watchers this year. He fears that part of that rise can be attributed to distrust born out of unsubstantiated and ongoing claims of election fraud during last year’s election and repeated demands from many Republicans for “election integrity.”

Youngkin has particularly campaigned on the issue, saying things like “I think we need to make sure that people trust these voting machines” at a recent forum and calling for an audit of voting machines (nevermind that the Department of Elections already does so).

For their part, Virginia elections officials have tried to reassure voters that their ballots will be safe and secure. They have also implemented some changes to how results will be reported tonight, to help avoid confusion surrounding larger counties posting results late into the night (a process which often swings the outcomes of crucial races).

More:
Your Voter Guide To The 2021 Virginia Elections
Youngkin Attacks On Criminal Justice Reform Put McAuliffe On The Defensive
Amid Heightened Scrutiny, Virginia Election Officials Say Voting Is Safe And Secure
How Loudoun County Schools Ended Up At The Center Of Virginia’s Elections
Republican Glenn Youngkin Has Pitched Big Tax Cuts For Virginia. Are They Realistic?
McAuliffe And Youngkin Spar Over Vaccine Mandates, Education Policy In Final Gubernatorial Debate