Nearly 35,000 Fairfax County residents have cast ballots for the Tuesday, Nov. 3 general election. Reston voters face a packed ballot: a U.S. Senate race, three constitutional amendments and two county bond questions.

About 20,000 of those votes came by mail and roughly 15,000 were cast in person, according to Sean Stewart, communications division chief at the Fairfax County Office of Elections. That represents more than 4% of the county's 554,304 active voters as of Sept. 1.

"Almost 20,000 of those were by mail ballots that have been returned, and close to 15,000 of those were folks that are voting early in person," Stewart told the Fairfax County Times.

The numbers will grow. Stewart said about half of Fairfax County voters cast ballots on Election Day in a typical cycle, with roughly 30% voting early in person and 20% by mail.

What's on the ballot

At the top of the ticket, Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Warner is seeking a fourth and final term against Republican Bert Mizusawa, a retired Army major general. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates the seat as solidly Democratic.

Warner raised $25.1 million as of July 15, compared with $376,200 for Mizusawa, according to the Virginia Public Access Project, as Cardinal News reported. Mizusawa's total does not reflect fundraising after his Aug. 4 primary win.

AARP Virginia canceled "The People's Debate," the state's most widely broadcast televised debate for statewide races, after Warner's campaign cited a busy Senate schedule. Mizusawa had accepted the invitation.

In the 11th Congressional District, which covers Reston, incumbent U.S. Rep. James Walkinshaw (D) faces Republican Arthur Purves and Green Party candidate Dianne L. Blais, according to Patch.

Three constitutional amendments

Voters will decide three proposed changes to the Virginia Constitution:

• Question 1 (reproductive freedom): Establishes a right to personal decisions about abortion, birth control, prenatal care and fertility care. Third-trimester abortions would be restricted except when the patient's health is at risk.
• Question 2 (marriage equality): Removes the state ban on same-sex marriage and requires equal treatment of all legally valid marriages.
• Question 3 (felony voting rights): Automatically restores voting rights to people convicted of felonies upon release from incarceration.

On Question 3, the Virginia Department of Elections notified nearly 235,000 Virginians in late September that their felony convictions should never have kept them from voting. Those individuals can now register in time for the election, FFXnow reported.

Two bond questions

The ballot includes two Fairfax County bond measures:

• Parks bond: Up to $180 million for land acquisition, new facilities, open-space preservation and park upgrades.
• Community health bond: Up to $75 million for construction, expansion and renovation of community health care and human services facilities.

Where and when to vote

The North County Governmental Center at 1801 Cameron Glen Drive in Reston is one of three early voting sites open now, with weekday hours of 1–7 p.m. Thirteen more sites open Thursday, Oct. 22, including the Herndon Fortnightly Library at 768 Center St.

The deadline to register or request a mail ballot is Friday, Oct. 23. Early voting runs through Saturday, Oct. 31. On Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, polls are open 6 a.m.–7 p.m.