Early voting in the Nov. 5 presidential election begins at 8:30 a.m. this Friday, Sept. 20, and the local voter registrars, Carla Faulkner in Mathews and Bobbi Morgan in Gloucester, are encouraging voters to be prepared before they cast their ballots.
With six presidential candidates on the ballot, along with an amendment to the Virginia Constitution, “expect a line back-up,” said Faulkner. She emphasized that election officers can’t help voters by explaining the constitutional amendment or discussing the candidates, so voters are on their own when it comes to making their decision.
Morgan said that absentee ballots by mail will be mailed out to people who have already requested them by Friday, and she asked that voters give the post office time to deliver them before contacting their voter registration office.
Candidates
Presidential and vice presidential candidates included on the ballot are Democrat Kamala D. Harris with Tim Walz, Republican Donald J. Trump with J.D. Vance, Green Party Jill E. Stein with Rudolph T. Ware III, Libertarian Chase R. Oliver with Mike ter Maat, and independents Claudia De La Cruz with Karina Garcia and Cornel R. West with Melina Abdullah.
Congressional elections are also on the ballot, with incumbent U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a Democrat, opposed by Republican Hung Cao, and Democrat Leslie Mehta challenging long-time U.S. First District Representative Rob Wittman, a Republican.
Constitutional referendum
The Virginia Constitutional referendum on the ballot would amend the constitution so that the state tax exemption that’s currently available to the surviving spouses of soldiers killed in action would also be available to the spouses of soldiers who died in the line of duty.
Sample ballots online
Ballots are the same in each county, since there are no local offices in this election. Gloucester’s sample ballot may be viewed at gloucesterva.gov/elections-voter-registration#sample, while the Mathews sample ballot is online at mathewscountyva.gov/ImageRepository/Document?documentID=1757.
Register to vote
Virginia residents may register to vote 24 hours a day online at vote.elections.virginia.gov/VoterInformation. They may also check and update their registration status, find their polling place, and apply to vote absentee by mail at this web address.
To register online, have a valid Virginia DMV driver’s license or state ID card ready. Other requirements include being a citizen of the United States, being a resident of Virginia, and being 18 years old or older before the election. Those convicted of a felony must have had their right to vote restored in order to vote. Those declared mentally incompetent by a court of law are disqualified from voting.
Anyone who doesn’t have a Virginia DMV-issued ID and is therefore unable to use the online service may download the registration form, complete it, and return it to their local voter registration office by mail or in person or mail it directly to Virginia Department of Elections, 1100 Bank Street, Richmond, Va. 23219.
The mailing address for the Mathews Voter Registration Office is P.O. Box 328, Mathews, Va. 23109. The physical address is 10604 Buckley Hall Road, Mathews. The contact number is 804-725-3200.
The mailing address for the Gloucester Voter Registration Office is P.O. Box 208, Gloucester, Va. 23061. The physical address is 6467 Main Street, Building One, Gloucester. The contact number is 804-693-3659.
Residents may also register to vote in person at their voter registration office.
How to vote
There are three ways to vote in Virginia—receive a ballot by mail, vote in person before Election Day, or vote in person on Nov. 5.
Ballots by mail must be requested no later than 5 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 25. If returned by mail, they must be postmarked on or before Tuesday, Nov. 5, and received by noon on Friday, Nov. 8.
They may also be returned before Election Day to the local voter registration office, a drop-off location, or a satellite location. No satellite locations are available in Mathews or Gloucester, and the drop-off locations are the voter registration offices. Gloucester has a secure ballot drop box in the office parking lot that’s under 24/7 surveillance.
Finally, ballots may be returned by 7 p.m. on Election Day to the voter registration office or any polling place. Witness signatures are not required to vote by mail, but the last four digits of the voter’s Social Security number or ID number must be provided, along with the year of birth.
To vote in person before Election Day, visit the local voter registration office, taking along an acceptable form of ID. The Gloucester Voter Registration Office is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. The Mathews Voter Registration Office open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
There will be additional hours to vote in person on the two Saturdays prior to the election, Oct. 26 and Nov. 2, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
To vote in person on Election Day, go to the polling place designated on your voter registration card between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. Take an acceptable form of ID.
For more information about voting in Gloucester, visit gloucesterva.gov/elections-voter-registration.
For more information about voting in Mathews, visit mathewscountyva.gov/251/Voter-Registrar.
Youngkin’s executive order
On Aug. 7, Gov. Glenn Youngkin issued Executive Order Number 35, Comprehensive Election Security Protecting Legal Voters and Accurate Counting.
In it, Youngkin said the casting of legal ballots in Virginia would be protected by stringent ballot security, complete and thorough counting machine testing, and best-in-the-nation voter list maintenance.
He emphasized that the Virginia model for securing elections “has proven itself over the past few years despite the significant expansion of voting days and locations.” He said that his administration had improved the accuracy of the state’s voter list, including “substantial updates for removal of deceased voters and protection against non-citizen registration.”
Virginia has established comprehensive data-sharing agreements with seven states and has received additional data from 42 states, said Youngkin. In addition, to identify individuals who no longer reside in Virginia, the state has conducted multiple National Change of Address mailings over the past two years.
On top of that, Virginia is one of only three states that require those registering to vote to provide their full nine-digit Social Security number, and over 90 percent of voters in Virginia submit electronic registration applications online through the Virginia Department of Elections, which requires a valid DMV credential, he said.
Youngkin lists a number of other measures, as well, including scrubbing from the voter rolls non-citizens who may have purposefully or accidentally registered to vote; 100 percent use of paper ballots that provide a record of the voter’s intent; using ballot counting machines, not voting machines; having a strict chain of custody for ballots; requiring an application for a mail-in ballot; having drop boxes under 24/7 surveillance; and having vote counting machines that are not connected to the internet and that are tested and certified before every election.
Finally, Youngkin emphasized that registrars must immediately cancel the voter registration of any non-citizen who has registered to vote by claiming they are a citizen and must notify the Commonwealth’s Attorney for their jurisdiction about the incident.