From Donald Trump to "No Vote": What Alexandria Voters Wrote In for House of Delegates Districts 3 and 4

Alfonso H. Lopez and Charniele L. Herring ran unopposed for their House of Delegates seats in the November 4 election. In Alexandria’s portions of their districts, 892 voters chose to write in someone else entirely—from Donald Trump to protest votes like “No Vote.”

The Results

District 3 (Alfonso H. Lopez, Democrat):

• Lopez: 6,597 votes (93.85%)
• Write-ins: 432 (6.15%)
• District includes parts of Alexandria and Arlington County

District 4 (Charniele L. Herring, Democrat):

• Herring: 12,207 votes (96.37%)
• Write-ins: 460 (3.63%)
• District includes parts of Alexandria and Fairfax County

District 3 had the highest write-in rate of Alexandria’s three unopposed delegate races. District 4 had the lowest.

What Voters Wrote In

Political names appearing in both districts:

• Donald Trump / Donald J. Trump (multiple instances)
• Kamala Harris (District 4)
• Elizabeth Bennett-Parker (written in District 4; she’s the unopposed delegate from neighboring District 5)

Protest votes:

• “NO” / “No Vote” (multiple instances)
• “N/A” / “NONE”
• “not her”
• “no republican”
• “Anyone Else” / “someone else”
• “I don’t care”
• “No choice provided”
• Blank write-ins with filled bubbles

Personal names: The majority of write-ins were personal names—likely friends, family members, or people voters wished were running.

Context

Both districts are among the most reliably Democratic in Northern Virginia. The Trump write-ins are notable in these deep-blue districts, suggesting some Republican voters used the write-in option to express their presidential preference even in races where their party fielded no candidate.

Comparison with other Alexandria unopposed races:

• Del. Alfonso H. Lopez (District 3): 6.15% write-in
• Del. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker (District 5): 4.76% write-in
• Sheriff Sean Casey: 3.7% write-in
• Del. Charniele L. Herring (District 4): 3.63% write-in
• Commonwealth’s Attorney Bryan Porter: 3.5% write-in

Contested race for comparison:

• Attorney General Jay Jones: 1% write-in

Virginia Write-In Law

For a write-in vote to count toward a candidate’s official total in Virginia, that person must register as a write-in candidate with the state before the election. Since none of these write-in candidates registered, their votes are tallied and recorded but don’t affect the official outcome.

METHODOLOGY: Analysis based on my review of Alexandria’s official write-in assignment documents from the Nov. 4, 2025, general election, showing 432 ballot images for District 3 and 457 for District 4. Some handwriting was difficult to decipher. All totals are from official Alexandria results only and do not include votes from Arlington or Fairfax counties.

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