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A Republican congressional candidate in Northern Virginia is asking the state Department of Elections to review a ballot-style image posted by Virginia Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell that incorrectly lists his name.
Tony Sabio, the GOP nominee in Virginia’s 8th Congressional District, said he first saw the image after his campaign manager sent it to him while he was putting up yard signs in Arlington.
“At first, I thought this has to be a joke,” Sabio told the Washington Examiner.
Surovell, a Democrat, posted the now-deleted image on X with the message, “My ballot is in the Mail! Make sure you vote as soon as you can!”
The picture of a ballot listing the wrong last name for the Republican candidate for Virginia’s 8th Congressional District, Tony Sabio, has been submitted to the Virginia Department of Elections for review. (Source: @tony_sabio via X)
The image shows a ballot for the U.S. Senate race between Democratic Sen. Mark Warner and Republican Bert Mizusawa. Beneath it is the 8th Congressional District race, where the Republican candidate is identified as “Tony A. Mizusawa.”
Sabio submitted the matter to the Virginia Department of Elections, asking whether the image is an official ballot, an unofficial sample ballot, an altered AI image, or something else.
“Is this really a slip-up, or are you trying to change my name so no one could find me?” Sabio said. “Sabio is a very unique name, and to cloud that, I think he’s doing something nefarious there.”
Katie Gorka, chairwoman of the Fairfax County Republican Party, said the source of the image and who was responsible for it should also be examined.
“I can’t know somebody’s intentions, but it does seem to me hard to make that mistake,” Gorka said to the Washington Examiner. “I have learned how serious election integrity and obeying election laws is and so, first of all, we don’t let anything out the door without, like, at least three checks.”
Sabio’s request also asks election officials to determine whether the image complies with Virginia’s requirements for unofficial sample ballots.
Under Virginia law, unofficial sample ballots may be published online, but they must include the words “sample ballot” on their face in at least 24-point type and cannot be printed on white paper. Official sample ballots are provided by electoral boards or general registrars for each ballot style and posted for public inspection at polling places.
“I believe in the system to do the right thing,” Sabio said. “I believe also that it’s through the power of the people to hold him responsible to make a determination. That determination needs to be clear and it needs to be concise. It should not be blown under the rug.”
Gorka said elections are too important for there to be no accountability for a mistake such as this.
“If this was just an honest mistake by somebody on staff, OK, fine. Mistakes get made,” Gorka said. “But this just feels like too big an error. People need to be held accountable. Elections are deadly serious. Election integrity is incredibly serious.”
Sabio also raised concerns about the possibility that the image was digitally generated using artificial intelligence and what this could mean for election integrity.
“If you start looking at what you’re doing with AI now, it brings a bigger scare,” Sabio said. “If you could produce a ballot that looks just like [the real thing] — minus the misspelling of the name — you just produced a ballot that can be mailed in and sent in.”
The Washington Examiner contacted Surovell’s office and asked whether the image was created using AI and whether it was intended to be a sample ballot. Don Mark, Surovell’s chief of staff, asked on a phone call that the questions be sent by email and said he would respond. Surovell’s office has yet to respond.
The Virginia Department of Elections has not yet publicly determined what the image represents.
WHO IS TONY SABIO? MEET THE REPUBLICAN VETERAN TRYING TO FLIP VIRGINIA’S 8TH DISTRICT
“I’m not saying that he’s found guilty,” Sabio said. “I’m leaving that to the Department of Elections. But there’s a lot of questions that need to be asked, and Department of Elections need to come out with substantial answers to these things.”
Early voting has already begun in Virginia, and Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3.
