After Covering Elections for 30 Years, Julie Carey Worked One Instead
ALEXANDRIA, VA – If you walked into Trinity United Methodist Church in Alexandria on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, you might have done a double-take.
Sitting behind the voter check-in table wasn’t a familiar election official. It was longtime News4 reporter Julie Carey.
For more than three decades, Carey covered elections across Northern Virginia, explaining the process to viewers and reporting the results. This Election Day, the recently retired journalist and Alexandria resident experienced the process from a completely different perspective—as a first-time election officer.
Carey shared the experience on social media after the polls closed, explaining that volunteering had long been on her bucket list.
“After more than 3 decades of covering elections for News4,” she wrote, “in my recent retirement I stepped over to the other side of the table as a first-time election officer in today’s primary.”
The experience carried special meaning.
“My late Mom was an election chief at her Iowa precinct for many years,” Carey wrote, “and I always wanted to volunteer to honor her memory.”
By the end of the day, Carey said she came away with an even greater appreciation for the people who quietly make Election Day happen.
“Tonight I have a whole new appreciation for the long days she put in well into her 80s,” she reflected.
The veteran journalist also said working inside the polling place only strengthened what she had observed throughout her reporting career.
“Seeing the process behind the scenes only reinforces my previous observations as a reporter—our Virginia elections are very secure and election workers and volunteers are extremely conscientious,” Carey wrote, adding, “Many thanks to them for their guidance throughout this day.”
For Alexandrians, there was something especially fitting about seeing one of the region’s most familiar television reporters on the other side of the table. After spending a career telling the stories of Election Day, Carey spent this one helping her neighbors cast their ballots.
