Newsroom
For Immediate Release
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Arlington County General Registrar Completes Change-of-Government Petition Review
- Question fails to qualify for the ballot
- 10,815 names certified
- Each sheet examined at least three times
ARLINGTON, Va. -- General Registrar Linda Lindberg today completed her office’s validation of the petition for the proposed change-of-government referendum. The petition was filed with the Circuit Court on July 14 and 15, and the Office of Voter Registration began its verification of the more than 16,000 signatures on July 15. The final number of certified names is 10,815.
Organizers wishing to place the question, “Shall Arlington County adopt the County Board form of government?” on the ballot needed verified signatures of 14,350 Arlington County registered voters for the question to qualify for the ballot. That number is based on 10 per cent of the active registered voters in Arlington as of January 1, 2009.
“Our staff was very thorough in our review of the petition,” said Lindberg. “Each sheet was examined at least three times, and many of the more difficult names were viewed by multiple staff members before we made a determination of their status.”
The office originally verified 13,032 names but subsequently removed about 2,200 after it was revealed that the circulator for 123 of the submitted pages was not qualified to serve in that capacity. Petition circulators must be eligible to register and vote in Arlington.
The original petition pages have been returned to the Clerk of the Circuit Court. Copies of the pages as verified by the registrar are available at www.arlingtonva.us/vote.
Arlington, Va., is a world-class residential, business and tourist location that was originally part of the "10 miles square" parcel of land surveyed in 1791 to be the Nation's Capital. It is the geographically smallest self-governing county in the United States, occupying slightly less than 26 square miles. Arlington maintains a rich variety of stable neighborhoods, quality schools and enlightened land use, and received the Environmental Protection Agency's highest award for "Smart Growth" in 2002. Home to some of the most influential organizations in the world - including the Pentagon - Arlington stands out as one of America's preeminent places to live, visit and do business.