Reston is getting a 24/7 ballot drop box at the North County Government Center before the Nov. 3 general election. Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay defended the county's election security at a congressional hearing Thursday, Oct. 1, as the board expands ballot access with $45,000 in new funding.

McKay testified at a "shadow hearing" at the Fairfax County Government Center, first reported by FFXnow. The forum was led by Rep. Joe Morelle (D-New York) and Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-Va.), whose 11th Congressional District includes Reston. House Democrats called it a shadow hearing because, as the minority party, they lack the power to subpoena witnesses or hold formal hearings.

Security "is built in multiple layers of every step of the process," McKay said. He noted that Fairfax voters mark ballots by hand, creating a physical paper record. After polls close, results go to an air-gapped election management system never connected to the internet.

McKay said bipartisan election officers oversee every ballot transfer, voting equipment carries tamper-proof seals, and there have been "absolutely no" cases of tampering with the county's existing drop box.

New Reston drop box

The Board of Supervisors approved $45,000 on Sept. 15 as part of the FY 2026 carryover budget to install permanent, camera-monitored drop boxes at two locations: the Mount Vernon Governmental Center and the North County Government Center at 1801 Cameron Glen Drive in Reston.

Mount Vernon District Supervisor Dan Storck proposed the funding at a Sept. 1 Budget Policy Committee meeting. Before the vote, Fairfax County had just one permanent drop box at the Government Center for about 1.1 million residents across roughly 400 square miles. That matched the single box operated by Falls Church, a city with less than 2% of the county's population.

Arlington tells a different story. The neighboring county, with less than a quarter of Fairfax's population, operates nine drop boxes across 26 square miles.

Fairfax County Office of Elections spokesperson Sean Stewart said in September that the office needs to complete materials sourcing and coordinate installation, with a goal of opening the boxes as soon as the process allows.

Whether the Reston box will be ready before Nov. 3 remains unclear.

ICE concerns at the polls

The hearing also addressed voter anxiety about federal immigration agents at polling places. A University of California San Diego survey found that only 49% of respondents expect the 2026 elections to be "free and fair." Among citizens surveyed, 39% of Asian American and Pacific Islander respondents, 31% of Hispanic respondents and 24% of Black respondents said they feared being questioned by immigration officers at the polls.

Skye Perryman, CEO of Democracy Forward, told the panel that three lawsuits are challenging a Department of Homeland Security policy that would authorize armed ICE agents at polling places. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in September that agents would not "patrol" polls but could respond to "specific threats."

Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.) said constituents have raised concerns about ICE presence at voting locations. McKay said law enforcement agencies across the region are meeting to discuss contingency plans should the election be challenged or unrest occur.

Early voting underway

As of Oct. 4, 44,779 Fairfax County residents had already voted early, according to the Virginia Public Access Project. The North County Government Center is already an early voting site, open Monday through Friday, 1–7 p.m., with weekend hours during the early voting period.

The deadline to request a mail-in ballot is Oct. 23. Election Day polls open 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Nov. 3.