You Should Have Received Your Voter Card By Now

The clock is ticking, and the election for local and statewide offices is next Tuesday, Nov. 8. The Fairfax County Office of Elections wants to be sure that residents who are registered to vote have received a new voter card. According to the office, cards were set to arrive no later than Oct. 31. Since that was yesterday, if you haven't received your card yet, you should probably contact the county.

Here is a list of frequently asked questions from the county about voter cards:

Why did I get a new voter card when I haven’t moved? 

Even if you have not moved, your precinct or polling place may have changed, or your elected representatives may have changed, due to redistricting. By law, every ten years the government must redistrict all legislative and magisterial districts to ensure more equal district population after the new census. 

Where is the voter card in the mailing I recently received?

Inside the brochure marked “Important Voting Materials Enclosed.” The new voter card, sent to all active voters, was reformatted. A visual example of the voter card shows, with an arrow, where the voter card is within the brochure. 

I have received a couple of voter cards recently – why?

There are several reasons you may have received more than one voter card recently: 

•       All active registered voters received a new voter card, dated Oct. 7, due to the many changes subsequent to state and local redistricting this year.
•       You also may have gotten one prior to the August primary if there were redistricting changes and your precinct had a contested primary election.
•       You also may have gotten a new card sent after the Oct. 7 mailing, if we received a change in your registration information after the mailing.
•       You also may have gotten a new card sent after the Oct. 7 mailing, if we discovered an error in the information previously sent.

If I received more than one voter card, are they all correct? 

NO!  The last voter card mailed will be the correct card.  But this may not be the last one received, depending on mail delivery.  You can tell which is the last one mailed by comparing the “Date Issued” near the top of the voter cards. Those sent in the countywide mailing to all active registered voters have an Oct. 7 date. Any card dated later is a corrected card; any card dated earlier may not be correct. 

What should I do if the information seems incorrect? 

Please call the Office of Elections IMMEDIATELY [emphasis from the county] at (703) 222-0776, TTY 711. We want to be sure voters’ questions are answered before Election Day to minimize any problems.  Because of challenges with a new voter registration database, there were a few instances where voter information has been incorrect - for example a few houses on a street where a change had occurred did not show up in the correct precinct in the database. As soon as we identified such problems, a new voter card has been sent.  There may still be a few such errors, and we want to correct them before Election Day. 

What if I did not receive a new voter card? 

All active registered voters were mailed a new voter card on Oct. 7. If you did not receive one, and you believe you are registered to vote, please call the Office of Elections IMMEDIATELY [emphasis from the county] at (703) 222-0776, TTY 711. While it is possible there was a delivery issue, it could mean that you are not a registered voter or that you have not updated your registration address. Again, we want to correct any such issues before Election Day.