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Elections committee, staff update ballots and add owner-with-tenant voter code for 2025 election
Summary
The RA Elections Committee recommended two changes to the 2025 ballot and voting guide: a new data field to capture whether a voter is new or returning, and a new voter code (OT) to flag owner-with-tenant units so votes are tallied correctly. Board approved the changes and asked staff and the committee to continue verification and certification
Reston's Elections Committee proposed two technical changes to the 2025 election ballot and voting guide and the board approved the committee's recommended updates at the Jan. 8 work session.
First, the committee recommended adding an option for voters to indicate whether they are a new voter or a returning voter; staff said the goal is to improve turnout analysis. Second, the committee proposed a new voter code, OT (owner with tenant), to capture situations where a unit is owner-occupied but also has a named tenant who is eligible to cast the tenant ballot in some circumstances. Staff explained the change is intended to ensure ballots are coded and counted correctly when multiple occupant types are present at a single unit.
Elections Committee Chair Richard Chu and elections staff described outreach undertaken before the meeting: they received a mix of responses to the RA's Resolution 17 renter/occupant information collection process, including paper and electronic returns (combined responses noted at a little over 3,000 forms). Staff said some voter classifications remain ambiguous because of turnover or incomplete data and that the committee will follow standard certification procedures to vet candidate residency and voter eligibility.
The board approved the Elections Committee's recommended ballot changes and agreed to one editorial direction requested at the meeting: make the instructions to 'see next page' more prominent on multi-page ballots so members reliably view all candidate choices. The motion to adopt the ballot and guide as revised carried unanimously after the minor editorial amendment.
Directors also asked the committee and staff to be prepared during certification to request proof of residency where a candidate's membership record raises substantive questions. Committee and staff said they will emphasize the residency requirement in candidate materials and will follow up with documentation where there is a credible question about a candidate's RA residence.
Why this matters: The changes are procedural but intended to reduce counting errors in mixed-occupancy units and to provide better data about voter behavior in future elections. Directors said the committee should continue to refine verification steps for candidate eligibility and membership voting codes.
