Frequently Asked Questions

The Virginia Department of Elections encourages voters to protect their health during this COVID-19 outbreak. All voters qualify to vote absentee due to HB 1, effective July 1, 2020, and no excuse is necessary. Voters who choose to vote by mail should do so as soon as possible in order to allow ample time for request processing, ballot mailing, and counting by Election Day.

This easy-to-complete Absentee Ballot Application is accepted by the Virginia Board of Elections. Your completed application will be sent electronically to your county/city registrar. A copy of your application will be sent as validation to the email address you provide.

You can view the status of your absentee ballot by viewing your voter record on the state elections website. Due to a high volume of absentee ballot requests, ballot requests may take up to 72 hours to appear on the site.

It goes to two places: your local registrar and this website’s sponsor, Vote Absentee Virginia. Additionally, if you learned of this site from a link sent by another organization, then that organization receives your name, contact info, and application date (but not your last 4 SSN digits). Why is partial information provided to linking organizations? Campaigns and get-out-the-vote groups work hard to reach out to potential voters. They want to know which channels are making an impact, plus they want to encourage you afterwards to return your absentee ballot.

In 2020, the Virginia General Assembly passed several laws relating to voting, including HB 1, which allows all registered Virginia voters to vote absentee without an excuse. Additionally, the registration deadlines have been extended and absentee ballots will be counted as long as they are postmarked by Election Day. As a result of these changes, our form design has changed a bit from prior implementations.

By Virginia law, any registered voter can request a mail-in ballot. No excuse is required to receive a mail-in ballot. We recommend voting absentee to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Our privacy policy can be found here.