The final stretch is here.

Voters head to the polls in less than a week to cast their ballots in the 2020 election—although many have already done so in Gloucester and Mathews counties, thanks to no-excuse absentee and early in-person voting in Virginia, which began Sept. 18.

As of Monday, Mathews Registrar Carla Faulkner reports that 2,648 residents have voted in person, with another 603 having returned their absentee ballots either in-person or through the mail, meaning that approximately 45 percent of registered voters have already cast their ballots, more than a week before Election Day, with early voting still going on.

In Gloucester, approximately 32 percent of registered voters have already cast their ballots—3,965 absentee requests by mail and another 5,382 early voting in person, for a total of 9,347 votes, Bobbi A. Morgan, the county’s Director of Elections/General Registrar, said following Monday’s daily count.

“Early voting has surely surpassed anything we have...