Absentee voting mail, in person deadlines coming up

The Virginia Department of Elections announces two upcoming deadlines for voters wishing to participate in the upcoming presidential election via an absentee ballot.

• Voters wishing to mail their absentee ballot have until 5 p.m. on November 1 to request a ballot via their local registrar’s office or via the Virginia Department of Elections Citizen Portal atvote.virginia.gov. The local registrar must receive all applications by the deadline in order to mail absentee ballots to eligible recipients in time for the presidential election.
• Absentee voters have until November 5 to appear in-person at their local general registrar’s to vote in-person absentee. The general registrar’s offices will be open Saturday, October 29, and Saturday, November 5, for individuals wishing to cast their absentee ballots in person. Voters also may visit their local registrar during regular business hours through the November 5 deadline to vote absentee in-person.

All absentee ballot application forms can be found online at vote.virginia.gov. These application forms may be submitted online, by e-mail, by fax or by mail. The Virginia Department of Elections is committed to providing absentee ballot access to all qualified voters. To see if you qualify to vote absentee, visit the Citizen Portal atvote.virginia.gov.

The Department of Elections encourages voters who are requesting absentee ballots sent by mail to apply well ahead of the November 1 deadline, as the US Postal Service advises that First Class delivery takes two to five days. Waiting until the deadline may not provide sufficient time for voters to receive their ballots and send them back on time. Applications for absentee ballots by mail received after the 5 p.m. November 1 deadline cannot be accepted. All absentee ballots must be received by 7 p.m. on Election Day, November 8, in order to be counted.

Voters who wish to cast an absentee ballot in person must come prepared with acceptable photo identification. Voters who do not have an acceptable form of ID still may cast their ballot after completing the Virginia Voter Photo Identification Card Application and receiving a Temporary Identification Document from their voter registration office.

Eligible Virginians may request an absentee ballot online by visiting vote.virginia.gov. Voters also may visit this website to see what is on the ballot and to find their polling place.