Fairfax County Republican leaders are raising concerns about ballot privacy after discovering a hole punched in absentee ballots could reveal a voter’s decision.

The concern was first flagged by a voter in a social media media post. If a Fairfax County absentee ballot is inserted in its return envelope a certain way, a bubble can be seen through a hole punch.

If someone knows the order in which nominees are listed on the ballot and where the bubble is marked, they could know it’s for Republican Attorney General candidate Jason Miyares.

Fairfax County’s GOP chair Katie Gorka wrote to election officials about her concern about privacy. Gorka worries that postal workers in particular could see votes.

“The privacy of the ballot is sacrosanct & its a problem here. You don’t have privacy with this ballot,” Gorka said.

Fairfax County election tips are now giving tips on their website about how to properly secure the ballot.

“Simply refold that ballot the exact same way it came to you,” Sean Stewart of the Fairfax County Elections Office said.

Stewart says once voters open the envelope, line up the ballot with the privacy flap, insert the ballot with the Commonwealth of Virginia header at the top with the ballot facing you and insert the ballot straight down into the envelope.

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What might confuse voters is the Virginia header at the top. Fairfax County redesigned its absentee ballots in 2021. The office got rid of the double envelope to save money and to stop wasting paper. The hole punch, better known as a tactile indicator, is one of the three methods required by law.

Gorka says she wants to see the double envelope return.

“Those ballots I think are deserving of protection,” Gorka said. “They are using huge amount of paper for all kinds of other issues. This one is important. This protects the privacy of the ballots.”

When News4 spoke to voters on Tuesday dropping off their absentee ballots, no one had a vote bubble peeking through the hole punch.

“I don’t have any worries that my ballot’s secure,” Billy Birdseye, a voter, said. “I don’t have any worries that my wife’s ballot is secure.”

Election officials emphasize that if voters use the ballot drop boxes, no one but the voter and election workers will see what their vote.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two more suspects have been charged with the attempted carjacking and beating of a 19-year-old man who was working for the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency — a crime that was a catalyst for the White House’s law-enforcement surge in the nation’s capital.

Laurence Cotton-Powell, 19, and Anthony Taylor, 18, were arrested last week on charges stemming from the Aug. 3 attack on Edward Coristine, a prominent DOGE employee nicknamed “Big Balls.” Two 15-year-old suspects from Maryland previously were charged with, convicted of and sentenced for Coristine’s beating.

“This case underscores the escalating challenges that we face in confronting crime in Washington, D.C.,” U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said at a news conference on Monday.

Coristine was walking a woman to her car in the city’s Logan Circle neighborhood when he was attacked by a group of teenagers who repeatedly punched and kicked him, authorities said. The suspects fled when they spotted a police officer nearby.

The attack on Coristine fueled President Donald Trump’s decision to flood Washington with a surge of patrols by federal agents and National Guard members.

Cotton-Powell and Taylor also are accused of participating in a separate attack and robbery of a man at a gas station shortly before they assaulted Coristine, Pirro said.

Cotton-Powell was arrested last Thursday. Taylor was arrested last Friday. Both are charged in D.C. Superior Court with attempted unarmed carjacking, robbery and assault with intent to commit a robbery.

Last Tuesday, a federal judge sentenced the two 15-year-old suspects to probation after they pleaded guilty to assaulting Coristine. Trump said it was a “terrible” decision not to incarcerate the teens.

“I think the judge should be ashamed of himself,” Trump said during an Oval Office appearance.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two more suspects have been charged with the attempted carjacking and beating of a 19-year-old man who was working for the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency — a crime that was a catalyst for the White House’s law-enforcement surge in the nation’s capital.

Laurence Cotton-Powell, 19, and Anthony Taylor, 18, were arrested last week on charges stemming from the Aug. 3 attack on Edward Coristine, a prominent DOGE employee nicknamed “Big Balls.” Two 15-year-old suspects from Maryland previously were charged with, convicted of and sentenced for Coristine’s beating.

“This case underscores the escalating challenges that we face in confronting crime in Washington, D.C.,” U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said at a news conference on Monday.

Coristine was walking a woman to her car in the city’s Logan Circle neighborhood when he was attacked by a group of teenagers who repeatedly punched and kicked him, authorities said. The suspects fled when they spotted a police officer nearby.

The attack on Coristine fueled President Donald Trump’s decision to flood Washington with a surge of patrols by federal agents and National Guard members.

Cotton-Powell and Taylor also are accused of participating in a separate attack and robbery of a man at a gas station shortly before they assaulted Coristine, Pirro said.

Cotton-Powell was arrested last Thursday. Taylor was arrested last Friday. Both are charged in D.C. Superior Court with attempted unarmed carjacking, robbery and assault with intent to commit a robbery.

Last Tuesday, a federal judge sentenced the two 15-year-old suspects to probation after they pleaded guilty to assaulting Coristine. Trump said it was a “terrible” decision not to incarcerate the teens.

“I think the judge should be ashamed of himself,” Trump said during an Oval Office appearance.