Election Day · Tuesday, November 3, 2026
How to vote in Virginia
The deadlines, early voting, mail ballots and ID rules for Virginia, and what happens after the polls close. Every fact links to the Virginia Department of Elections or the law it comes from. Rules change, and courts sometimes change them close to an election, so confirm anything you are relying on with the state.
Checked against official sources on October 8.
Key dates
- Register online by
Friday, October 23
Register or update online through the Citizen Portal by Friday, October 23. After that you can still register in person and vote a provisional ballot.
- Register by mail by
Not confirmed yet — check with the Virginia Department of Elections.
- Register in person by
Friday, October 23
To vote a regular ballot. After October 23 you can register in person at your registrar's office, a satellite early voting site, or your polling place on Election Day, and vote a provisional ballot.
- Same-day registration
Yes
Same-day registration is available through Election Day, but you vote a provisional ballot that the local electoral board must approve. On Election Day you must go to your own precinct's polling place.
- Early voting
Friday, September 18 to Saturday, October 31
- How early voting works
Vote early at your general registrar's office or a satellite site. Registrar offices are also open Sunday October 18, Saturday October 24, Sunday October 25 and Saturday October 31. Bring an ID or sign an ID Confirmation Statement.
- Request a mail ballot by
Friday, October 23
Received, not postmarked: your local registrar must receive the application by 5 p.m. Friday, October 23. Apply online through the Citizen Portal or by mail, fax or email.
- Return your mail ballot by
Tuesday, November 3
Postmarked on or before Election Day and received by noon on the third day after (Friday, November 6). Ballots returned in person or to a drop-off location are due by 7 p.m. on Election Day.
- Election Day polling hours
6 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Voters in line at 7 p.m. can vote (Va. Code § 24.2-603).
Voting by mail
- Who can vote by mail
Any voter can vote by mail
Any registered voter can apply to vote absentee by mail, for one election or permanently (the permanent absentee list).
- Drop boxes
Yes
Drop-off locations are set by each locality; the ballot mailing lists yours, or ask your general registrar.
- Ballots arriving after Election Day
Yes
Yes, if postmarked by Election Day and received by noon Friday, November 6.
ID at the polls
- The rule
ID requested (photo not needed)
Voters are asked for an acceptable ID, but anyone without one can sign an ID Confirmation Statement and vote a regular ballot.
- What to bring
Bring an acceptable ID (a Virginia DMV license works even if expired). If you don't have one, sign an ID Confirmation Statement at the polls and vote a regular ballot.
When will we know results in Virginia?
How fast results come in depends mostly on when the polls close and when election officials are allowed to start on mail ballots. Totals shown on election night are unofficial until the state certifies them.
- Last polls close
7 p.m. Eastern time
- Mail ballots can be processed from
Friday, September 18
As soon as returned ballots arrive (ballots go out 45 days before the election). Registrars check the voter affirmation and may open envelopes and feed ballots into scanners before Election Day, without producing any totals (§ 24.2-709.1(B), version in effect until January 1, 2027).
- Mail ballots can be counted from
2026-11-03T19:00
Va. Code § 24.2-712(D): at the central absentee voter precinct, machine-readable absentee ballots are inserted into the counting machines before the polls close, but "no ballot count totals by the machines shall be transmitted outside of the central absentee voter precinct until after the closing of the polls" (7:00 p.m.). Hand tallies may start after noon on Election Day and are likewise not released until polls close.
- Counties finish their count by
Friday, November 13
Computed: local electoral boards meet by 5 p.m. the day after the election and may adjourn as needed, up to 10 calendar days after the election (§ 24.2-671), unless extended for a risk-limiting audit.
- State certifies results
Monday, December 7
Computed: the State Board meets by the first Monday in December to ascertain the results (§ 24.2-679).
- Automatic recount
No
Va. Code § 24.2-800: when the margin is not more than one percent of the vote cast for the two candidates, the defeated candidate "may appeal ... for a recount"; the recount is by petition, not automatic. Costs fall on the petitioner unless the margin is within one-half of one percent (§ 24.2-802.3).
- Requested recount
1% or less
A defeated candidate may petition if the margin is 1% or less of the total vote for the two candidates. For a ballot question, 50 voters may petition if the margin is 50 votes or 1%, whichever is greater.
- Runoff
No runoff — the candidate with the most votes wins
Va.
- Ranked-choice voting
Not used
Only Arlington County and Charlottesville use ranked-choice voting, for certain local elections. It is not used for state or federal races.
- Votes needed to pass a ballot measure
A simple majority
Simple majority. Va. Const. art. XII, § 1: "If a majority of those voting vote in favor of any amendment, it shall become part of the Constitution."
What’s on your ballot
Every contest you will vote on, from Congress to school board, with each candidate’s positions and record and the arguments for and against them.
Confirm this with the official source
Your ballot is determined by your election authority, not by us. Verify your registration, precinct, and sample ballot at Virginia Department of Elections.