Early voting for the November 5th election will be underway here in Virginia in just two short weeks! This week, I joined my colleagues on the Privileges & Elections Committee in Richmond for a presentation by Commissioner Beals of the Department of Elections on the upcoming election preparations. She answered important questions from our committee members regarding voter list maintenance, coordination with local registrars, data-sharing with neighboring states, and more.

On Friday, Sept. 20, in-person early voting will begin, and those who have pre-registered for an absentee ballot will begin to receive them in the mail. For your convenience, the Mount Vernon Governmental Center here in the 16th district, along with the Fairfax County Government Center and the North County Governmental Center will open for in-person early voting on that date. Additional locations across Fairfax County will open on October 17th. The opening hours for the first three early voting sites are as follows:

• Fairfax County Government Center

Monday – Friday: 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Saturdays (Sept. 21, Oct. 19, Oct. 26, Nov. 2): 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Sunday (Oct. 27): 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

• Mount Vernon Governmental Center

Monday – Friday: 1 p.m. – 7 p.m.

Saturdays (Sept. 21, Oct. 19, Oct. 26, Nov. 2): 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Sunday (Oct. 27): 1 p.m. – 5 p.m.

• North County Governmental Center

Monday – Friday: 1 p.m. – 7 p.m.

Saturdays (Sept. 21, Oct. 19, Oct. 26, Nov. 2): 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Sunday (Oct. 27): 1 p.m. – 5 p.m.

All registered voters in Virginia are eligible to vote early without a reason or excuse. Voters must present an acceptable ID or may sign an ID Confirmation Statement. These forms of ID can include a Virginia driver's license (expired licenses may be used for voting purposes), US passport, military ID, valid Virginia student ID, current utility bill, or bank statement. A full list of acceptable forms of identification can be viewed on the Virginia Department of Elections website. 

The deadline to register to vote or update an existing registration to vote using a regular ballot is October 15th. Voters may still register after this date through Election Day, but they must vote using a provisional ballot. The deadline to apply for a ballot to be mailed to you is October 25th at 5pm. These mail-in ballots must be postmarked by Election Day. Fairfax County offers ballot tracking through wheresmyballot.com to keep voters informed about their ballot status throughout the voting process. To register to vote and/or apply for an absentee ballot, you can do so through the Citizen Portal at https://www.elections.virginia.gov/citizen-portal/. 

The last day for in-person early voting is Saturday, Nov. 2. 

On Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. On that date, you must vote at your polling location. You can visit the Citizen Portal to type in your address to find out your polling location. 

Want to get more involved this election season? Become a poll worker! Poll workers help the election run smoothly during early voting and on Election Day and perform various roles such as greeter, pollbook officer, and voting equipment and booth officer. This is an excellent way to serve your community and perform your civic duty. If you are a qualified voter in Virginia, you can learn more and apply to serve as a poll worker here: https://fairfaxelections.fillout.com/eo-application.

We all know there is a presidential race at the top of the ticket this year, but what else can you expect to see on your ballot? For Fairfax County residents, we will also have the opportunity to vote for a candidate for US Senate, US House of Representatives, a state constitutional referendum, and public safety and transportation bond referendums. The state constitutional referendum will ask voters whether the Constitution of Virginia should be amended to expand the tax exemption currently available to the surviving spouses of soldiers killed in action to include surviving spouses of soldiers who died in the line of duty. Sample ballots from the Fairfax County Office of Elections will be available to view online in the next few weeks.

I hope to see you at the polls this fall!