Lynchburg’s Republican City Committee has voted to hold a firehouse primary for its upcoming city council elections — and it’ll serve as the first test of a new Virginia law.
Firehouse primaries and conventions — those run by a political party instead of the state — are often posited as a method to keep members of other political parties from diluting the vote.
But this new law, sponsored by Del. Dan Helmer, D-Fairfax County, aims to make sure accommodations are made for absentee voters to avoid suppressing turnout. It outlines procedures parties must follow when running their own elections.
The bill was passed by Virginia’s General Assembly in 2021 and went into effect Jan. 1. It allows parties to choose their own methods to nominate candidates but requires them to make certain accommodations for absentee voters, including military personnel, college students, people temporarily living outside the U.S., people with disabilities and people with communicable diseases.
Helmer’s law is meant to ensure that party-run primaries don’t suppress voter turnout — but he sees the firehouse primary set by Lynchburg Republicans to be a far-right ploy to impact the nomination.
“If Lynchburg is going to make this accessible in a way that a person who is serving their country outside of Lynchburg can meaningfully participate, then that would be OK under the law,” Helmer said. However, “it seems more likely that MAGA extremists are trying to deny access to a party nominating process to people serving their country.”
Veronica Bratton, chair of the LRCC, said the vote Monday to hold a firehouse primary was nearly unanimous, with only Vice Mayor Chris Faraldi — whose Ward IV seat will be on the ballot this year — voting against it. While logistics are still being determined, she said, the committee will follow the new law to ensure a fair process.
“I stand strongly in favor of Republicans picking their nominees,” Bratton said in an email. “We will ensure the law is followed accordingly and give all Lynchburg City Republicans the opportunity to have their voices heard through their vote.”
Martin Misjuns, a Republican city councilmember and a rival of Faraldi, posted on Facebook that the nomination method is meant to keep Democrats from infiltrating Republican nominating events. It “ensures Democrats and nefarious actors don’t select our Republican nominees for City Council,” he wrote in the post.
Faraldi said he voted against the firehouse primary because it’s not known how the process will work to comply with the new law. “I’m not one of those anti-convention, pro-primary guys, or vice versa, but voting for a method of nomination without knowing any of the details isn’t wise in my view,” Faraldi said in a statement. “The method of nomination could be a thumb war for all I care, I’d still compete!”
Lynchburg Republicans have been embroiled in in-fighting since the party won a 5-2 majority on the city council in 2022, with Misjuns and Faraldi in different camps among the two Republican factions. Last year, Faraldi was one of three Republicans on council who joined with two Democrats to censure Misjuns for “disorderly behavior and misconduct.” In response, Misjuns recently criticized Faraldi on Facebook and posted: “2024 is going to be a great year to remove incompetent fraudsters at the ballot box.” Faraldi has declared for reelection. So far, he’s the only candidate in Ward IV but is widely expected to draw an opponent for the Republican nomination. He said this would be the first time that Lynchburg Republicans have used a firehouse primary to select candidates for council. Since there are council seats available in four wards, there could technically be four separate firehouse primaries if there are contested nominations in each one.
What’s a firehouse primary?
A “firehouse primary” is the popular name for what is technically considered a “canvass.” It resembles a state-run primary in that voters can show up at a polling place during a designated time, cast their vote and leave. However, this is a process run by the party, not the state, so voting times, voting places and other rules differ.
Since Virginia does not register voters by party, state-run primaries are “open” primaries, open to all. For a firehouse primary, a party would require loyalty oaths.
The logistics of the firehouse primary remain to be seen, but it will be the first real-world test of Helmer’s law.
The law states: “A method of nomination shall not be selected if such method will have the practical effect of excluding participation in the nominating process by qualified voters who are otherwise eligible to participate in the nominating process under that political party’s rules but are unable to attend meetings.”
The LRCC hasn’t said how it’ll handle absentee voting or other logistics. To comply with Virginia law, the LRCC will have to figure out just that.
“We have a team putting together the logistics of the absentee ballot process to ensure we have covered all of the legal requirements and will only roll it out once we are sure it is ready,” Bratton said.
Faraldi, the only committee member who voted against the firehouse primary, said he looks to be involved with the logistics and make sure the election is accessible to everyone.
“Above all else, it’s my goal to ensure the process is fair to all parties, that every voter has the opportunity to participate, that the standards to be maintained are maintained,” Faraldi said.
To uphold the new Virginia law, Helmer said, there are multiple methods at the state’s disposal, such as the Election Integrity Unit, run by Attorney General Jason Miyares. Helmer also said he’d encourage someone to sue the LRCC if the primary turns out not to be accessible.
“If MAGA extremists want to deny access to democracy, I’m going to encourage people in the district to take a stand on it and demand their voices are heard, as well as the attorney general to act on this,” Helmer said.
No matter the election process, Faraldi said it won’t change his motivation for city council or his campaign.
“We have a fully committed team to turn the most people out and win this nomination,” Faraldi said. “Some of the strategies may change, [but] it doesn’t matter. We’re going to commit everything we have to running a top-tier effort to come out on top.”