Absentee Voting By Mail Encouraged For Fredericksburg Election

FREDERICKSBURG, VA — The Virginia Department of Elections is encouraging Fredericksburg residents to vote absentee by mail in the May elections for local offices in light of concerns about the new coronavirus, or COVID-19. The election is scheduled for Tuesday, May 5. Voters will choose the mayor, two at-large city council members and two at-large school board members.

For mayor, Anne Little, who co-founded Tree Fredericksburg, is running against Mary Katherine Greenlaw, who is seeking her third term as mayor. For the city council, three people are running for the two at-large seats. Incumbents Matthew Kelly and Kerry Devine are running for reelection, with attorney Jon Gerlach seeking to unseat one of them. For the school board's two at-large seats, incumbents Jannan Holmes and Jarvis Bailey are not facing any challengers.

Due to the new coronavirus, the Virginia Department of Elections has determined that all registered voters in the city are eligible to vote absenteee in the election. Under state law, absentee voting must begin on Friday, March 20. Because of the outbreak, voters are permitted to select "2A My disability or illness" as a reason to vote absentee in the May election.

The deadline to request an absentee ballot for the May elections is 5 p.m. on April 28. Absentee ballots must be returned to Fredericksburg Voter Registrar at 601 Caroline St 500A, Fredericksburg, VA 22401 by 7 p.m. on Election Day, Tuesday, May 5.

Absentee ballot requests can be completed online through the Virginia Department of Elections website, the City of Fredericksburg voter registrar webpage, by contacting the voter registrar’s office by email at vote@vote.fredericksburgva.gov, or by calling the voter registration office at 540-372-1030.

The Fredericksburg Voter Registrar said online absentee applications are preferred and will be sent directly to the registrar’s office for processing. Paper absentee ballot requests also will be accepted and should be completed and returned to the Registrar’s office. The applications also can be faxed to 540-373-8381, or emailed to vote@vote.fredericksburgva.gov.

In-person absentee voting will take place at the Registrar’s office from March 20 through May 2.

Election day voting is scheduled to take place at the six polling stations across the city on Tuesday, May 5 from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. A valid photo ID is required to vote in person.

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