From Donald Trump to "No Vote": What Alexandria Voters Wrote In for House of Delegates Districts 3 and 4
892 Alexandria voters rejected the lack of choice in two unopposed state legislative races
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.
