Voter Registration
About Us
The Electoral Board and the Office of Voter Registration are responsible for maintaining an accurate list of registered voters and conducting elections in a fair, equitable, and accurate manner in Arlington County.
Electoral Board
Current members of the Electoral Board, their political party affiliations, and their current positions are as follows
- Charlene N. Bickford (D), Chairman
- W. Scott McGeary (R), Vice Chairman
- Allen H. Harrison, Jr. (R), Secretary
The three-member Electoral Board is appointed by the Circuit Court, typically on recommendations made by the local political parties. Two members of the Board represent the political party of the current governor, while the third member represents the party that had the second-highest number of votes statewide in the last gubernatorial election.
The Electoral Board members serve staggered three-year terms. The Chairman and Secretary of the Electoral Board must represent different political parties, unless the minority party member of the Board has agreed otherwise.
In Arlington, the Electoral Board positions are all part-time appointments, for which the members receive a set compensation amount by law. The Board is required to meet twice a year by law, and other meetings are held as needed to facilitate the administration of Arlington's elections.
The Electoral Board is responsible for appointing and training the officers of election who work at the polls on Election Day; for printing, mailing and processing absentee ballots; for receiving and reviewing candidate filings and campaign finance reports; for maintaining accurate minutes and election records; and for performing other specific duties as prescribed by the Code of Virginia or directed by the Virginia State Board of Elections. Many of the day-to-day tasks performed in conjunction with these duties are delegated by the Board to the registrar and the registrar's staff.
Registrar and Staff
| Permanent Staff | Regular Part-time/Seasonal Staff | |
| Linda Lindberg, General Registrar | Wes MacAdam, Assistant Registrar | |
| Gretchen Reinemeyer, Deputy Registrar | Maggie Lynch, Assistant Registrar | |
| Bill Sands, Outreach Coordinator | Judy Sever, Assistant Registrar | |
| Cheryl Scannell, Absentee Voting Manager | Kitty Clark Stevenson, Assistant Registrar | |
| Nerys Lopez, Assistant Registrar | Kendall Hudak, Assistant Registrar | |
| Jackie Letizia, Election Specialist | Tyra Baker, Assistant Registrar | |
| Don Hodgen, Assistant Registrar | Madolyn Keller, Assistant Registrar | |
| Jack Nickerson, Assistant Technician | ||
| Joe Houston, Assistant Technician | ||
In the year after the governor takes office, the Electoral Board is required to appoint a general registrar to serve a four-year term. The general registrar must be a resident of Arlington County and cannot hold other elected or appointed office or participate in partisan political activities. Usually the current registrar is reappointed, unless the registrar has notified the Electoral Board he or she wishes to retire.
The registrar is the full-time staff administrator of the Office of Voter Registration, and is responsible for hiring assistant registrars and other employees required to run the office. In addition to the general registrar, the office currently employs six permanent staff. Part-time temporary and seasonal staff is employed as needed, and the office currently employs eleven regular part-time staff members.
Linda Lindberg, General Registrar
Linda Lindberg was appointed General Registrar for Arlington County in 2003, after having served since 1994 as Deputy Registrar. She has served several terms as co-chair of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments' Election Officials Technical Committee, is active the Voter Registrars' Association of Virginia and has provided assistance on a number of special projects and task forces for the Virginia State Board of Elections, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, and the Election Center/National Association of Election Officials.
Prior to being employed by Arlington County , Linda worked in arts administration for about 15 years, first as a practitioner and later for a data systems vendor. She holds a bachelor's degree in theater and arts management from Miami University (Ohio) and a Master of Public Administration degree from George Mason University.
Location and Directions
The Office of Voter Registration and the Electoral Board is located in the County administration building in Courthouse Plaza at 2100 Clarendon Boulevard, Suite 320. The building is conveniently accessible via the Courthouse Metro station. Office hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, with additional hours scheduled for absentee voting on some evenings and weekends prior to each election.
History of the Electoral Board and Office of Voter Registration
Although historical records indicate that the Arlington County Electoral Board has been in existence for at least 100 years, detailed Board minutes date only from 1959. We do know that the position of general registrar was established in 1948 by state law. Prior to then, persons who wished to register to vote were required to seek out the person designated as their district registrar, often at the registrar's home and at the registrar's convenience.
The following brief history was compiled from available records.
| 1948 | Mary Thompson appointed Arlington's first general registrar. |
| 1959 | Board minutes from 1959, the earliest on record, indicate that the following served on the Electoral Board, but it is not clear how long each had been on the Board: Maynard M. Carlisle, Denman T. Rucker, Ralph Kimble |
| 1968 | Minutes from Sept. 19 state that Maynard Carlisle died on Aug. 30, and he had served on the Board for 30 years. Replaced by William B. Moore. |
| 1969 | William B. Moore resigned on April 10 to run for House of Delegates. Replaced by William B. O'Connell, Jr. |
| 1971 | Mike Hage appointed to Board, replacing Rucker. |
| 1973 | Mary Thompson retires as registrar and is replaced by Peggy Wilkinson. |
| 1982 | Margo Horner appointed to Board, replacing Kimble. |
| 1985 | Peggy Wilkinson retires as registrar and is replaced by Charlotte Cleary. |
| 1987 | Charlene Bickford and Allen H. Harrison, Jr. appointed to Board, replacing Horner and Hage. |
| 1989 | Fred Berghoefer appointed to Board, replacing O'Connell. |
| 1994 | Scott McGeary appointed to Board, replacing Bickford. |
| 2003 | Charlene Bickford appointed to Board, replacing McGeary. Charlotte Cleary retires as registrar and is replaced by Linda Lindberg. |
| 2009 | Fred Berghoefer resigns from the Board and is replaced by David Bell. |
| 2011 | Scott McGeary appointed to Board, replacing Bell. |
| Electoral Board Members | Tenure | Years Served |
|---|---|---|
| W. Scott McGeary | 2011 - | 2 + (total 11; see below) |
| David A. Bell | 2009 - 2011 | 1.3 |
| Charlene Bickford | 2003 - | 10 + (total 17; see below) |
| W. Scott McGeary | 1994 - 2003 | 9 (see above) |
| Fred Berghoefer | 1989 - 2009 | 20 |
| Allen H. Harrison, Jr. | 1987 - | 26 + |
| Charlene Bickford | 1987 - 1994 | 7 (see above) |
| Margo Horner | 1982 - 1987 | 5 |
| Mike Hage | 1971 - 1987 | 16 |
| William B. O'Connell, Jr. | 1969 - 1989 | 20 |
| William B. Moore | 1968 - 1969 | <1 |
| Ralph Kimble | pre-1959 - 1982 | >23 |
| Denman T. Rucker | pre-1959 - 1971 | >12 |
| Maynard M. Carlisle | pre-1959 - 1968 | 30 per minutes |
| General Registrars | Tenure | No. of Years |
|---|---|---|
| Linda Lindberg | 2003 - | 10 + |
| Charlotte Cleary | 1985 - 2003 | 18 |
| Peggy Wilkinson | 1973 - 1985 | 12 |
| Mary Thompson | 1948 - 1973 | 25 |
CONTACT US
Arlington County Office of Voter Registration
2100 Clarendon Blvd., Suite 320
Arlington, VA 22201-5400
Tel 703.228.3456
TTY 703.228.4611
Fax (main) 703.228.3659
Fax (absentee applications) 703.228.3705
Office Hours: 8 a.m. - 5 p.m., Mon-Fri
E-mail: voters (at) arlingtonva.us (general inquiries)
pollworkers (at) arlingtonva.us (officers of election)
absentee (at) arlingtonva.us (absentee voting)
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