Two of Northern Virginia’s smallest independent cities have more people on the voter rolls than the Census Bureau’s latest estimate of adult U.S. citizens living there. Official state election data show Fairfax City and Falls Church City both reaching about 121 percent of that census figure.
Fairfax City and Falls Church sit inside the geographic boundaries of Fairfax County but operate as independent cities, each with its own voter rolls. Statewide, active registrations alone fall below 100 percent of the same census estimate. The gap is much larger in these two localities.
The Virginia Department of Elections’ November 1 registrant file listed 18,191 active voters and 1,038 inactive voters in Fairfax City, for a total of 19,229, across six precincts. Falls Church City listed 11,778 active and 806 inactive voters, for a total of 12,584, across three precincts. Election-night reporting produced similar totals. Falls Church’s unofficial results page showed 12,615 registered voters.
On Election Day, Fairfax City recorded about 11,300 ballots cast, roughly 59 percent turnout. Falls Church turnout was higher, around 65 percent, with unofficial results showing 8,255 ballots cast. Absolute inactive totals remain modest, at about 1,000 in Fairfax City and about 800 in Falls Church, but the ratio of total registrants to the census estimate still reaches approximately 121 percent in both cities.
That comparison uses the Census Bureau’s Citizen Voting Age Population special tabulation, drawn from the 2020–2024 American Community Survey. It is a five-year average, not a head count taken on Election Day. The tabulation estimates 15,814 adult U.S. citizens in Fairfax City, with a margin of error of 399, and 10,414 in Falls Church City, with a margin of error of 263. Growing places can appear higher when measured against the older numbers in that survey. A 2024 comparison had already placed Fairfax City above the prior citizen-adult estimate, so the pattern predates the 2026 election.
Inactive voters stay on the rolls under the National Voter Registration Act until after the second federal general election with no activity if they do not respond to confirmation notices. They may still cast a regular ballot if they appear and affirm eligibility.
Statewide, the same November 1 file counted 6,097,965 active registered voters, below the census estimate of 6,378,483 adult citizens. In Fairfax City and Falls Church, even the active lists remain higher relative to the older survey. Both cities still exceed 100 percent when the census margins of error are applied and when only active voters are counted.
The Department of Elections has not published a locality-level reconciliation for the two cities that separates active and inactive voters, notices mailed, and cancellations against the newest population estimates.
Both cities voted heavily Democratic in the 2026 general election. Fairfax City approved the abortion referendum at about 74 percent. Falls Church approved it at about 84 percent, with unofficial results showing 83.84 percent yes. Sen. Mark Warner carried Fairfax City with roughly 75 percent and Falls Church with roughly 85 percent. Unofficial returns showed 75.1 percent and 84.83 percent, respectively.
Whether the gap reflects growth, inactive-list rules, survey lag, or something else remains open until the state releases a full reconciliation. The figures come from public election-night reporting, the November 1 registrant file, and the Census Bureau’s 2020–2024 ACS CVAP tabulation.
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