‘Nation looks to the Virginia governor's contest’ as early voting opens Sept. 19

Voters can cast their ballot for the upcoming gubernatorial race starting Friday, Sept. 19.

Early voting locations are usually at the local registrar’s office on weekdays, but each locality sets its own early voting locations. Jurisdictions will offer weekend early voting on Saturday, Oct. 25 and Nov. 1, with some localities offering Sunday voting as well.

Virginia has one of the longest early in-person voting periods in the U.S. at 45 days, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Susan Dzieduszycka-Suinat, president and CEO of U.S. Vote Foundation, said early voting makes participation easier for the American voter.

“It extends Election Day, it de-stresses the process and you know that's going to make voting more inclusive by design,” Dzieduszycka-Suinat said.

Sam Shirazi is a Virginia political analyst and host of the Federal Fallout podcast. Virginia’s early voting period encourages turnout because no reason is required and it allows more time for people to vote, he said.

Shirazi said there have been critiques at a national level of mail-in voting, which may raise concerns for Virginia voters.

“It's important to note that Gov. Youngkin and his head of the elections office have not said there are any issues with Virginia's mail voting,” Shirazi said. “Most voters appreciate having the option to early vote.”

Gov. Glenn Youngkin issued an executive order on Sept. 12 to strengthen already existing security protocols as a “threat landscape” evolves.

This includes removal of ineligible voters from the voter roll, updating technical standards to align with federal best practices and mandating interagency cooperation. This follows executive orders issued in 2024, which established protocols for voter list maintenance and ballot security. Critics of some of these measures worry that voters may be purged unnecessarily from the voter roll.

J. Miles Coleman, associate editor of Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics, said voting outside of a traditional booth can seem suspicious to some people. That is because those ballots are sometimes counted later than others. But overall, the increased voting options can increase voter turnout.

“I would not be surprised if we have over a million votes cast early,” Coleman said.

Voters will usher in a new executive branch this year, with governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general seats on the ballot.

Abigail Spanberger is the Democratic nominee for governor and Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears is the Republican nominee. Democrat Sen. Ghazala Hashmi is running against Republican John Reid for the lieutenant governor seat. Democratic nominee Jay Jones will face Republican incumbent Jason Miyares for attorney general.

Candidates for all 100 Virginia House of Delegates seats, along with some local offices, will be on the ballot. Only 10 House districts are viewed as “competitive” by the nonpartisan Virginia Public Access Project. Control of the House is at stake, with Democrats currently holding a slim majority at 51-49.

Enter your address to see who is on the ballot and where to vote, on the VPAP website.

Stephen Farnsworth, Ph.D. is a professor and director of the Center for Leadership and Media Studies at the University of Mary Washington. Farnsworth stated in an email that many national policies “significantly” impact the Virginia economy, such as with the cutbacks of federal workers.

“The nation looks to the Virginia governor's contest as a leading political indicator of the upcoming midterm elections,” Farnsworth stated.

The deadline to register to vote without the use of a provisional ballot is Oct. 24. This is in line with the deadline to request a mail-in ballot, a change from previous years, according to the Virginia Department of Elections.

Virginia uses same-day registration starting on Oct. 25. A provisional ballot is generally used by voters who don’t have identification at the time of voting or who are registering, and the local electoral board must confirm their identity. Voters can check registration status and register to vote through the online citizen portal.

There are numerous forms of accepted identification to vote, including most state or government issued identification cards for current Virginia residents, education-issued IDs for in-state students and items such as a current utility bill, bank statement, government check or paycheck with the name and address of the voter.

Accepted items can be confirmed through the Virginia Department of Elections.

Mail-in ballots may be returned to designated drop-off locations or to the local general registrar's office by 7 p.m. on Election Day. Ballots sent by mail must be postmarked on or before Nov. 4 and arrive within the following three days.

Nov. 1 is the final day of early in-person voting.