Election season begins on Friday

In-person voting for the 2021 Virginia state elections begins Friday. Also, absentee ballots will be sent to all voters who have requested a ballot by mail.

Voters no longer need a reason to vote absentee. Any registered voter may request an absentee ballot, either in- person or by mail. Voters can request a mailed ballot online at elections.virginia.gov/voterInformation. They can also find a vote-by-mail ballot application at elections.virginia.gov/forms. Or they can contact their local voter registration office and ask them to mail them an application. Contact information for local registrars can be found at elections.virginia.gov/localGR.

The last day to request an absentee ballot is Friday, Oct. 22 at 5 p.m. Absentee ballots returned by mail must be postmarked by Election Day, Nov. 2, and received by the local voter registration office by noon on Friday, Nov. 5. Voters can also drop off their marked and sealed ballots at a drop off location at their local voter registration office or polling place up to 7 p.m. on Election Day.

Early in-person voting ends Saturday, Oct. 30, at 5 p.m. Voters do not have to fill out an application to vote in person. Voters can simply go to their general registrar’s office or satellite voting location, show ID and cast a ballot. More information about what IDs are considered acceptable can be found at elections.virginia.gov/voterID.

Because of the anticipated high volume of mail-in votes, the Department of Elections is urging all those who wish to vote by mail to request and return their ballots as soon as possible. Voters can track the status of their ballot applications online at elections.virginia.gov/voterInformation. They can also call their local registrar’s office to determine the status of their application.

If you are blind or have low vision or have impaired manual dexterity, you have the option of voting an absentee ballot using an electronic ballot marking tool.

Voters with questions about absentee, mail-in and in-person voting or any aspect of the Nov. 2 election may call the Virginia Department of Elections at (800) 552-9745, email the department at [email protected], or visit our website at elections.virginia.gov.

Voters are also encouraged to follow us on Twitter at @vaElect, Facebook at @VirginiaELECT and Instagram at @va_election.