Yes, Virginia, you can vote safely in 2020, even during a pandemic.
That was the main takeaway at CircleUp Middle Peninsula’s Sept. 9 forum on voting in 2020, “Voting in the Pandemic.” The public forum was presented online using Zoom and Facebook, and registrars from Mathews, Gloucester and Middlesex all participated.
Carla Faulkner (Mathews) and Melissa Welch (Middlesex) were both live at the forum; Bobbi Morgan (Gloucester) was unable to be present, but she was asked the questions ahead of time, and forum moderators shared her answers. Leonne Arsenovic and Kathleen Kellar were the moderators, and Nancy Keenan and Ella Webster provided technical support.
With many voters choosing absentee voting in order to avoid contact with COVID-19, all three counties are taking special measures to make sure all absentee ballots get where they are supposed to in time to be counted. No-excuse absentee voting is the biggest change at the state level, and mail-in absentee ballots do not require witnesses for this election. Voters can vote absentee in person from Sept. 18 through Oct. 31.
In addition to regular office hours, the Mathews registrar’s office plans to be open for in-person absentee voting on two Saturdays, Oct. 24 and 31, from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m., and the Middlesex office will open for voting on Oct. 31 at 9 a.m. Gloucester is offering curbside absentee voting from Sept. 18 to Oct. 31. Gloucester will also have a ballot box, made of thick steel, securely fastened, with a drip-proof opening, and the ballot box will be under 24-hour camera surveillance.
Postage stamps are required on mail-in ballots, but Gloucester, Mathews, and Middlesex counties are all putting stamps on the mailing envelopes of the ballots. Mail-in absentee ballots must be postmarked by Nov. 3 and received by the following Friday at noon to be counted, but Faulkner said she does not advise waiting until Election Day to mail in a ballot. Faulkner and Welch both emphasized that only voters’ physical addresses, not post office boxes, are accepted.
Polling places on Election Day will practice social distance with marks on the floor. Voters not wearing masks will not be turned away, but they will be encouraged to vote outside. Poll workers will use face masks, shields and sanitizer; pens will not be re-used; and surfaces will be wiped down between uses.
The registrars emphasized that voting machines cannot be hacked because they have no internet connection. All ballots in Virginia are scanner-based with paper back-up and secure seals. As for voting twice, it is not only illegal, it is hard to do. The only way to get a second ballot is to get a provisional ballot, which would then be checked against a state database protected by security measures. It is also not possible to register to vote in two places, and there is no online voting.