The Charlottesville and Albemarle Voter Registrars would like to remind voters who have applied for and received a mail absentee ballot, and who have not yet voted and returned their ballot, that time is growing short.
Mail absentee ballots must be received by your local voter registration office by 7 p.m. on Election Day, Tuesday, November 6 to be counted.
Charlottesville General Registrar Rosanna Bencoach added, “Postmarks do not govern. Under state law, ballots received after the 7 p.m. Election Day deadline cannot be counted.”
Mail absentee ballots can be returned by the voter by mail or by a commercial delivery service (e.g., Federal Express, UPS), or by the voter personally, but not by another person or a personal courier service. Directions were included with each mailed ballot.
If a voter chooses to vote in person at their assigned polling place on Election Day, Tuesday, November 6, they can return the absentee ballot to the precinct officials to be voided and will vote a replacement ballot. If the voter does not have the absentee ballot with them, they will be issued a provisional ballot which will be counted after the Electoral Board has confirmed that their mail absentee ballot was not received and counted.
Absentee Voting Update
Bencoach reports that as of this morning 54 percent of the mail absentee ballots issued by the city (836 of 1,541) had not yet been returned. Albemarle County General Registrar Jake Washburne reports that 57 percent of the mail absentee ballots issued by the county (2,087 of 3,636) are outstanding.
In person absentee voting has been brisk, with 1,064 city voters and 1,926 county voters casting ballots in their voter registrar’s offices, so far. There are currently 30,524 active registered voters in the city and 78,253 in the county.
In person absentee voting continues through this Saturday, November 3, when all Virginia voter registration offices will be open at least 8 hours (times will vary). Voters needing to vote absentee in person must go to the office for the locality in which they are registered to vote. The Charlottesville and Albemarle voter registration offices will both close at 5 p.m. on Saturday.
Both Registrars also encourage voters to check their voter registration and polling place before the election.
“Voters who have moved and re-registered may not know where they vote,” said Washburne. “In Albemarle County we have had several polling place changes during the last year. Notices were mailed to each affected voter, but those who voted in past elections at the following precincts especially need to check their voting location before election day: Belfield, Brownsville, Cale, Crozet, Free Bridge, and University Hall.”
For more information
Voters can look up their own registration and polling place securely online at http://vote.virginia.gov/. Be sure to enter your correct locality so that the match will be found.
Voters with questions should call their local voter registrar’s office, preferably before election day. In Charlottesville, call 434-970-3250. In Albemarle, 434-972-4173.
For contact information for all Virginia voters registration offices, see:
https://vote.elections.virginia.gov/VoterInformation/PublicContactLookup
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