The Best Way To Check Status Of Mail-In Ballots In Fairfax County

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — Confused about the status of your mail-in absentee ballot in Fairfax County? You're not alone.

Fort Hunt resident Christine Wright reported a concern about the status of her family's absentee ballots to ProPublica's Electionland project. She, her husband and son turned the completed ballots in at the Fairfax County Government Center's drop box. But when she checked the status of all three on Ballot Scout, only her son's ballot is identified on Ballot Scout as "received" by the election office. The ballots of Wright and her husband were not listed as "received" by the office. Upon entering information on Ballot Scout on Friday, Patch found the same information for the three ballots.

But that may not be the most accurate information, according to Fairfax County Office of Elections spokesperson Brian Worthy. Because Ballot Scout tracks ballots returned by the U.S. Postal Service, it won't indicate if a ballot returned by drop box is received. Worthy says residents should use the Virginia Department of Elections' online citizen portal to check the status of their ballot.

"The state site is really the most reliable way to do it," said Worthy.

Worthy urged voters to be patient as the Office of Elections receives and processes the large number of absentee ballots. He expects even more absentee ballots will be coming in as the Nov. 3 election gets closer. As of Oct. 19, the Office of Elections has issued nearly 250,000 mail-in ballots. The deadline to request an absentee ballot by mail is Oct. 23.

"I know people are eager to see if their ballot has been received. We've got a lot of them to work through," he said.

For those who are returning mail-in ballots, Worthy says "there's no reason to be concerned about putting them in the drop box." The secure drop box outside the Fairfax County Government Center is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Drop boxes are also available at early voting sites during voting hours, and those are monitored by poll workers. While early voting sites have seen lines for in-person voting, there are no lines to turn in an absentee ballot to a drop box. On Election Day, drop boxes will also be available at all polling places from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Voters are encouraged to return their completed ballots as soon as possible. If returning a ballot by mail, it must be postmarked on Nov. 3 and received by the Office of Elections on Nov. 6. Drop boxes will be available until 7 p.m. on Nov. 3, when polls close.

For more information about voting in Fairfax County, visit www.fairfaxcounty.gov/elections. To check your polling place, registration status, absentee ballot status and more, visit vote.elections.virginia.gov/VoterInformation.

Patch is partnering with ProPublica’s Electionland project to report on problems voters encounter at the polls on Nov. 3 and we want to know if you see any shenanigans. Here’s how you can report what you see to Electionland:

• SMS: Text the word VOTE, VOTA (for Spanish) or 投票 (for Chinese) to 81380 (standard text message rates apply).
• WhatsApp: Send the word VOTE, VOTA (for Spanish) or 投票 (for Chinese) to 850-909-8683.
• Facebook Messenger: Go to m.me/electionland

SEE ALSO: Tell Patch If You See Election Shenanigans In Fairfax County