VA Absentee Ballot Requests Already Surpass 2016 Total: Governor

VIRGINIA — Nearly 800,000 Virginians have submitted requests to receive absentee ballots by mail, well above the total number of people who voted absentee in the 2016 election, according to Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam.

With voters hoping to avoid contact with other people at polling places on Election Day, large numbers of residents are requesting absentee ballots by mail. Due to the coronavirus crisis, any registered voter in the state can vote absentee, either by mail or in person. Voters do not need a reason to vote absentee unlike in previous election years.

"We all know this will be an unprecedented election," Northam said Tuesday afternoon at a news conference in Richmond. "The combination of a presidential election year and a pandemic is something none of us have ever experienced."

Northam said the Virginia Department of Elections has already received 790,000 requests for absentee ballots by mail. Election officers will begin mailing out ballots to registered voters who requested them starting Friday, Sept. 18.

For comparison, 566,000 total votes were cast absentee in 2016 and only half that number of ballots was cast by mail. "So now, seven weeks before Election Day, we have already surpassed absentee demands from four years ago," Northam said. "We know that demand will continue to go up."

Ballots can be requested from local election offices or by visiting the state Board of Elections website at vote.elections.virginia.gov.

When voters receive their ballot in the mail, they should complete the ballot, sign it and mail it back to the election office, or hand-deliver the ballot to the local registrar's office. As a result of legislation recently passed by the Virginia General Assembly, voters can deliver their ballots at drop-off locations.

"Secure drop-off locations will be located at registrar's offices, all satellite voting locations and at polling places on Election Day," Northam said. "Drop-off locations will be listed on your local voter registrar's website. You can also call your registrar for a list."

Voters will not be required to use a stamp when mailing their ballots this fall. All absentee ballots will have prepaid postage.

Every absentee ballot envelope is required to have an intelligent mail barcode and an election mail insignia. The barcode will let the voter track the ballot once it leaves the registrar's office and when it gets delivered back to the registrar. The insignia tells the U.S. Postal Service that the mail is a ballot and should be prioritized, Northam said.

Starting Friday, registered voters can also begin voting early in person at their local registrar's office. In-person early voting ends Oct. 31. Election Day voting runs from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 3.

Northam warned that results from the presidential election may not be available for a few days after Nov. 3 due to the unprecedented number of mail-in votes across the nation.