Dianne Lane, Jill M. Spall and Helen Anne Zurita lead for three Manassas council seats. For the School Board's third seat, 13 votes separate two candidates.
Three candidates who do not sit on the Manassas City Council lead the race for its three open seats, in unofficial results from Tuesday’s election. They are Dianne Lane, Jill M. Spall and Helen Anne Zurita.
The School Board race is much closer. Only 13 votes separate the candidates in third and fourth place for the board’s last open seat, and ballots are still being counted.
All figures here come from the Virginia Department of Elections results page for Manassas city. All six city precincts have reported, along with early and mailed ballots counted by election night. The results are unofficial until the city’s electoral board certifies them.
What it means for you
- The count is not finished. Mailed ballots postmarked by Nov. 3 still count if they reach the city by noon Friday, Nov. 6, and provisional ballots have not been added yet.
- Check your provisional ballot. If you voted provisionally, the city’s Voter Registration and Elections Office can tell you what happens next: 703-257-8230.
- No change for the mayor’s office yet. Interim Mayor Ralph J. Smith serves until a special election on Nov. 2, 2027 (see our voting guide).
City Council: three seats
The top three vote-getters win. None of the three leaders is listed as a current member on the city’s Mayor and Council page. Council member Theresa Coates Ellis finished fourth.
| Candidate | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Dianne Lane | 6,665 | 20.8% |
| Jill M. Spall | 6,118 | 19.1% |
| Helen Anne Zurita | 5,707 | 17.8% |
| Theresa Coates Ellis | 5,037 | 15.7% |
| Lynn Forkell Greene | 3,765 | 11.8% |
| Colin J. Turner | 2,939 | 9.2% |
| Eugene E. “Doc” Brown | 1,664 | 5.2% |
| Write-in | 135 | 0.4% |
Zurita leads Ellis by 670 votes for the third seat.
School Board: 13 votes for the last seat
Three School Board seats were on the ballot. Lisa Anne Stevens and Marcus S. Still hold the top two places. Murina V. Dove is third with 5,941 votes. Sara J. Brescia is fourth with 5,928.
| Candidate | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Lisa Anne Stevens | 6,216 | 19.7% |
| Marcus S. Still | 6,102 | 19.3% |
| Murina V. Dove | 5,941 | 18.8% |
| Sara J. Brescia | 5,928 | 18.8% |
| Raul O. Campoverde Lindao | 3,626 | 11.5% |
| Javanese M. Hailey | 3,626 | 11.5% |
| Write-in | 110 | 0.3% |
Why the last seat could still change
Two steps are still to come.
- Late ballots. Mailed ballots postmarked by Election Day count if they arrive by noon Friday. Provisional ballots are decided after the election. Neither is in the totals yet.
- The canvass. State law gives the city’s electoral board up to 10 calendar days after the election to confirm the results, under Section 24.2-671 of the Code of Virginia. That runs to Friday, Nov. 13.
A recount is also possible. Under Section 24.2-800, a losing candidate may ask for one when the gap is 1% or less of the votes cast for the two candidates. The current gap of 13 votes is about 0.1% of the 11,869 votes Dove and Brescia received together.
The board serves the city’s public schools, Manassas City Public Schools (see our schools guide).
House of Delegates: Vásquez Luna wins
Council member Sonia Vásquez Luna won the special election for the Virginia House of Delegates 20th District. She appears on the ballot as Sonia Ruth Vasquez Luna, a Democrat.
Across the whole district, which also takes in Manassas Park and part of Prince William County, she had 16,365 votes to 7,083 for Republican Nathaniel “Nate” Fritzen. That is about 70% to 30%. In Manassas city alone the count was 8,667 to 4,090.
Council members recognized her at their Oct. 26 meeting (see our report on that meeting). The city has not yet said what happens to her council seat.
Congress and the Senate in Manassas
How the city voted, in unofficial results:
- U.S. Senate: Democrat Mark R. Warner 9,018 (70.4%), Republican Bert Mizusawa 3,761 (29.3%).
- U.S. House, 10th District: Democrat Suhas Subramanyam 8,541 (66.4%), Republican Dave T. Beckwith 4,035 (31.4%), independent Ahsen Mujeeb Malik 269 (2.1%).
The three constitutional amendments
Manassas voters backed all three proposed amendments to the Virginia Constitution. The wording of each is on the Department of Elections amendments page.
| Question | What it does | Manassas Yes | Manassas No |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Protects decisions on prenatal care, childbirth, birth control, abortion, miscarriage management and fertility care, and allows limits on abortion in the third trimester with health exceptions | 8,647 (68.6%) | 3,951 (31.4%) |
| 2 | Removes the ban on same-sex marriage and requires all legally valid marriages to be treated equally | 8,001 (63.4%) | 4,622 (36.6%) |
| 3 | Restores the right to vote automatically on release from incarceration after a felony conviction, and makes voting a fundamental right | 7,968 (63.1%) | 4,653 (36.9%) |
Statewide, the unofficial count on the state’s results page also shows Yes ahead on all three questions: 62.5% on Question 1, 57.5% on Question 2 and 56.6% on Question 3.
What happens next
- Noon Friday, Nov. 6: last chance for mailed ballots postmarked by Nov. 3 to arrive.
- Monday, Nov. 9: the current City Council meets at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall. Its published agenda includes the airport terminal ground lease hearing and first readings of the Center Street garage and apartments rezoning and the accessory dwelling unit rules. It does not yet list a date for swearing in the new members.
- By Friday, Nov. 13: the electoral board must finish confirming the city’s results.
Questions about the count go to the City of Manassas Voter Registration and Elections Office at 703-257-8230. For council contacts, see who to call at City Hall.
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