Your Election Day game plan, Fredericksburg's pot shop rules, six bands and a busy week

Good morning, FXBG.

Welcome to November and to standard time. If you're up early and the house feels too quiet, that's the extra hour. Sunrise this morning is about 6:36 and sunset is about 5:09 p.m., by our calculation. Tuesday is Election Day and there's no school anywhere in the region, so today's issue is mostly about planning: how to vote, who has kids at home when, and what's worth leaving the house for this week.

In today's Rundown:

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Early voting ended Saturday at 5 p.m. If you haven't voted yet, you have one day left: Tuesday, Nov. 3. We covered the full ballot last Wednesday. Here's the short version for the day itself.

The basics: Polls are open 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. If you're in line at 7, you can still vote. On Election Day you have to vote at your assigned polling place. That's not necessarily where you voted early or where you voted years ago. Look it up before you leave on the state's voter information portal.

What to bring: An acceptable ID. A Virginia driver's license works, even if it's expired, and the state's list also includes a passport, a military ID, a student or employer photo ID, and certain documents with your name and address, like a recent utility bill or bank statement. Forgot your ID? You can sign an ID Confirmation Statement at the polls and still vote a regular ballot, according to the Department of Elections. ID rules

Mail ballot still on the counter? Fredericksburg's registrar says there are secure drop boxes at each polling place until polls close at 7 p.m. Tuesday. If you mail it, it has to be postmarked by Nov. 3 and arrive by noon Friday, Nov. 6. Registrars suggest taking it inside the post office and asking for a hand-stamped postmark. Don't count on a blue box getting you a same-day postmark.

What's on it, in one breath: U.S. Senate, the 7th District House race, and three proposed state constitutional amendments for everyone. Below that, Stafford has its school sales tax question, Spotsy has four bond questions (about $400.6 million total) and a special election for commissioner of the revenue, the city has a special election for one at-large School Board seat, and Bowling Green and Port Royal have town council races. Read up → amendment text · your sample ballot

Plan around the light: Thursday we told you to pack an umbrella. The forecast has improved since then. As of Saturday morning, the National Weather Service expects Tuesday to be partly sunny with a high near 72. With the time change, sunset Tuesday is about 5:07 p.m., so if you're voting after work, it'll be dark by the time you get there. Polls close almost two hours after sunset. NWS forecast

Who's home when: All four school divisions are closed to students Tuesday. Two of them also give students Monday off:

Heads up: Stafford and the city also close for Veterans Day, Wed., Nov. 11, so next week is another short week for those families.

Results: Unofficial results will post on the state's election results site Tuesday night as localities report. Unofficial means unofficial: mailed ballots can still arrive until Friday at noon, and provisional ballots get sorted out after that. Close races may not be decided Tuesday night. Results page

Your registrar → City · Stafford · Spotsylvania · Caroline

School calendars → Stafford · Fredericksburg (Patch) · Spotsylvania · Caroline

Virginia plans to start taking license applications for retail marijuana stores on Feb. 1. Fredericksburg City Council spent part of its Oct. 27 work session on a question it has to answer before then: where in the city could those stores go?

The starting point: State rules keep marijuana stores 1,000 feet from hospitals, public and private schools, colleges and child day programs. Localities can shrink that distance but can't make it bigger. Community Planning and Building Director Ray Cash told council that 1,000 feet would basically rule out the city's older areas, where churches, schools and daycares have been in place for a long time. That includes most of downtown.

The two options staff laid out, according to the Free Press:

Either way, staff also suggested keeping stores 500 feet apart from each other so they don't cluster.

Not everyone wants to shrink it that far. When the talk turned to matching the rules the city uses for tobacco and vape shops, Councilor Susanna Finn said, "I don't really feel like we need to do shrinking beyond that knowing that there is opportunity available in other parts of the city." Cash pointed to Central Park and the shopping centers along the big corridors as possible locations, even if downtown stays mostly off-limits.

Then there's the look. Councilor Will Mackintosh said shops he's seen in other states can look like fortresses: "There's often a lot of thick plexiglass or bars… I don't think that's the aesthetic or the vibe that we're going for in Fredericksburg." State rules already require cameras, alarms and locked storage. Staff will check whether the city can regulate how stores look. Historic district design guidelines would apply either way. Other ideas on the table: a 2,500-square-foot cap on sales floors, no drive-throughs or vending machines, hours modeled on ABC stores, and possibly limits on products like THC vape cartridges, if the city has that authority.

What's next: Nothing was decided. Staff will come back with a draft ordinance, and zoning rules like these have to go through public hearings before council can adopt them. If you have an opinion about whether a store belongs near your street or downtown, this is the time to start paying attention.

The Free Press story → https://www.fredericksburgfreepress.com/2026/10/30/fredericksburg-weighs-retail-marijuana-restrictions/

Halloween's done, the election is Tuesday, and Thanksgiving is still a few weeks off. That makes this a good week to get out. Here's what we'd put on the calendar.

Sunday: free compost bin, anyone? The R-Board's Mini Compost-a-Thon is at Long Family Market in Stafford this morning. Bring your food scraps for drop-off and leave with a free countertop scrap bin and a little composting know-how. It's also the last day of the season for the market food-scrap collection, which started in June.

Monday: six bands, one field. All six Stafford high school marching bands play Band Together to Fight Hunger. It's the only night of the year you can see all six together, and this is the 16th year. You get in with one canned or boxed food item. Food donations go to SERVE in Stafford, and money donations go to the Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank, which says every $1 helps provide two meals. Bring a blanket. It gets cold in the stands after dark.

Wednesday: pay what you can for a Tony winner. UMW Theatre opens Dear Evan Hansen with a pay-what-you-can preview Wednesday night. The box office window opens at 5:30, tickets are first come, first served, and you pay any amount you want. The regular run is Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m., through Nov. 22, with tickets from $5 to $40. (Also Wednesday at UMW, from our Wednesday issue: the free screening of The New Data Center Alley, 7 p.m. in Seacobeck Hall, Room 145.)

Friday: Veterans Day comes early in Stafford. The county's ceremony is the Friday before Veterans Day. This year it recognizes 17 veteran-owned and military-spouse-owned businesses, and Chairman Deuntay Diggs gives the keynote. The county says more than 20,000 veterans live in Stafford. Special veteran pins are handed out while supplies last.

Friday night: First Friday. Downtown's galleries open late, musicians play on the corners, and shops stay open. If you're 21 or older, you can sip and stroll. The free trolley loops through downtown. Start at the Visitor Center at 601 Caroline St., then wander.

Saturday: pick your night. At Historic Kenmore, "Night in Washington's Day" lights the Great House the way it would have been lit in the 1700s. There are hands-on activities about colonial lighting, a look at the night sky, and music by Colonial Faire. Buy timed tickets ahead of time, because the gate may sell out. Across town, Jazz4Justice pairs the UMW Jazz Ensemble with Legal Aid Works. Net proceeds are split between music scholarships and legal help for low-income neighbors. And Downtown Greens' Down Home Ball at Brock's Riverside Grille has food, live music by Ladia and a silent auction, all supporting the nonprofit's nearly 59 acres of green space.

Kenmore → event listing · More this week (Free Press calendar) → fredericksburgfreepress.com

The weather catch: Monday through Wednesday look mild, with highs from the upper 60s into the 70s. The NWS has showers and thunderstorms likely Thursday, with more chances Friday. Check the forecast before you plan First Friday.

🩺 Health insurance shopping opens today. Open enrollment on Virginia's Insurance Marketplace runs Nov. 1 through Jan. 29, 2027. New this year is Virginia Premium Savings. If your household earns between 138% and 250% of the federal poverty level, it could cut your monthly premium by up to 70%. The State Corporation Commission says the average savings is $65 to $90 per person per month. The money is first come, first served, so don't wait. The call center (888-687-1501) is open today, Sunday, 9 a.m.–6 p.m. SCC

🎖️ Stafford's veterans tax relief keeps growing. Stafford's budget director told supervisors that the state-required tax relief for disabled veterans is now costing the county $33 million, and that figure grows by about $400,000 a month. That's the same pressure the county pointed to when it raised the tax rate in April. The good news: sales and meals tax collections are ahead of last year so far. It's useful background for the audit fight we covered Saturday. Potomac Local

🚧 Night drivers, two work zones this week. The Falmouth Bridge (Route 1 over the Rappahannock) has alternating lane closures Monday through Friday nights, 7 p.m.–6 a.m., for bridge cleaning. Farther north, Route 1 near Quantico drops to two lanes from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. Wednesday night through early Friday so crews can set beams for the new Chopawamsic Creek bridge. If weather pushes that back, it moves to Nov. 9–11. VDOT · Potomac Local

🏫 Stafford middle school boundaries: your turn is Nov. 10. The School Board is redrawing middle school lines ahead of the new Edward E. Drew Middle School, which opens in August 2028 at Oak Knoll Farm. There are three scenarios still in play: Birch, Dogwood and Poplar. The public hearing is at the Nov. 10 work session, and adoption is expected Dec. 8. You can look up your own address on the division's map. Stafford Schools

🐕 City dog owners: 2027 dog tags go on sale today at the Treasurer's Office in City Hall, 715 Princess Anne St. They're $5 for spayed or neutered dogs and $10 otherwise. Bring proof of a current rabies vaccination. Every dog 4 months and older needs one by Jan. 1. The office isn't open on Sunday, so plan on a weekday. City of Fredericksburg

🇺🇸 Veterans: sign up to march. Fredericksburg's Veterans Day procession steps off Wed., Nov. 11, at 10:30 a.m. on Washington Avenue, followed by the 11 a.m. commemoration at the Fredericksburg Area War Memorial on George Street. Veterans and veteran groups can register to walk, and a trolley is available for those who can't do the 0.6 miles. Register

As of Oct. 28, with three days of early voting still left, the region had already cast about 52,650 early ballots, by our math from the Free Press's numbers. Every locality had already passed its 2022 early-vote total:

UMW's Stephen Farnsworth told the Free Press that people who vote early are mostly people who would have voted anyway, so a big early vote doesn't necessarily mean higher turnout overall. It does mean shorter lines on Tuesday, in theory. Free Press

Hit reply and tell us the one local issue you want us to dig into after Tuesday. Data centers? Your tax bill? Traffic on Route 3? Schools? We'll read every answer and use them to plan what we cover in the coming weeks.

Know someone who still has to vote and keeps asking, "Wait, where do I go?" Forward this to them. Everything they need is in the first section.

Enjoy the extra hour, FXBG. See you Monday.

The FXBG Rundown

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