ballotbymail.org · nonpartisan
Voting by mail in Virginia
Yes. Anyone can request a mail ballot. Any registered voter can request a mail (absentee) ballot, no reason needed. There's a deadline, so request early. If the ID rule applies to you (typically first-time voters who registered by mail), include a copy of your ID with a mailed ballot or it's counted only as provisional.
Key dates
| Register to vote by | Fri, Oct 23 (same-day registration also available) |
| Mail ballot request received by | Fri, Oct 23, 5 p.m. |
| Early in-person voting | Fri, Sep 18 – Sat, Oct 31 |
| Mail your ballot by | Tue, Oct 27 (USPS: allow 7 days) |
| Election Day | Tue, Nov 3 |
| ID at the polls | ID requested (photo not necessary). Without one: Voter may sign an ID Confirmation Statement (subject to felony penalties) and vote a regular ballot. If they refuse, they vote provisional and have until noon on the Friday after the election to deliver a copy of ID or a signed ID Confirmation Statement to the electoral board. |
| Return rule | Postmarked on or before Election Day and received by your general registrar by noon on the third day after (Nov. 6). You can also use a drop-off location; check the instructions in your ballot packet. |
| Fix a flagged ballot by | Fri, Nov 6 |
| Missed the request deadline? | Voters kept from applying or voting by their own hospitalization or illness, or the hospitalization, illness or death of a spouse, child or parent, or another emergency after the deadline: by Mon, Nov 2, 2 p.m.. Voters with a work obligation, a family hospitalization or a death in the immediate family arising after noon the Saturday before: by Mon, Nov 2, 2 p.m.. And 1 more on the live page. |
| Who can return it for you | You must return it yourself, with narrow exceptions. A mailed ballot goes back by mail (USPS or a commercial carrier, not a friend or courier), by you in person to the registrar, or to an official drop-off location. Exceptions: your designated representative under the emergency and disability rules. The law doesn't say who may use a drop-off location. |
Steps
- Request your ballot now. Don't wait for the deadline.
- Confirm your registration and mailing address while you're at it.
- When it arrives, fill it out in blue or black ink and sign the envelope.
- Return it by drop box or in person if you can. Mail it at least a week early if not.
- Track it on your state's tracker until it shows received.
Don't get rejected
- If you registered without showing ID, include a copy of an acceptable ID with your mailed ballot or it will be treated as provisional.
- Sign the envelope. An unsigned envelope is the most common fixable mistake.
- Use the secrecy sleeve if one is included, then the return envelope. Don't tape anything.
- Your state goes by the postmark. Automated postmarks can lag a day, so hand it to a clerk at the post office counter and ask for a manual postmark (free).
https://www.elections.virginia.gov/casting-a-ballot/absentee-voting/
https://www.elections.virginia.gov/citizen-portal/
https://www.elections.virginia.gov/citizen-portal/
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Rules checked 2026-09-09; deadlines checked 2026-09-09. Sources: NCSL, Vote.org, CEIR, state election offices. The official site wins if anything differs. Free to copy and post.