Election Day 2024 is in full swing in Virginia. (Parker Michels-Boyce for the Virginia Mercury)
Election Day 2024 is in full swing in Virginia, and we’re keeping track of what’s happening at the polls. Get informed before you cast your ballot and check back here; we’ll share updates throughout the day.
1 p.m.:
Virginia early voter turnout data and mail-in voting
Virginia Elections Commissioner Susan Beals said at a media briefing on Election Day morning that as of Nov. 1, a record 6,374,437 Virginians had registered to vote. As of Tuesday morning, 2,305,439 Virginians had already cast their ballots through early voting, of which 1,861,938 were cast in person and 443,501 were returned by mail.
Of the mail ballots that are still outstanding, a total of 126,266 mail ballots have yet to be returned.
“Those who are voting absentee by mail must have those ballots postmarked on or before today Nov. 5, and they must be received in the mail by noon Friday, Nov. 8, in order to be counted,” Beals said.
While same-day registrations data was not yet available for Tuesday around 10 a.m., Beals said that the state had filed a total of 16,557 same-day registrations leading up to Election day, “but we are obviously expecting more today.”
In September, Beals had expressed concerns about potential delays with the U.S. Postal Service affecting timely processing of mail-in ballots ahead of the election. However, on Tuesday she reported that these issues have not materialized so far, and ballots are being processed on schedule.
“I think a lot of folks have chosen to do a drop off at a dropbox at their registrar’s office, we have seen an increase in that method of return,” Beals told reporters. ” We have not heard specific examples of people having delays in getting their mail back.”
Beals added most voters are being very diligent about ensuring that their ballot has been received, which they can check online and see that it’s been received by their local registrar’s staff once they mail it back.
“We have seen an overall decrease in the number of people who have requested absentee by mail-in ballot this year as compared to 2020, but you can’t necessarily attribute that to just this issue, because 2020 was a very different time and a lot of people requested mail-in ballots because they just didn’t know what to expect on Election Day that year with the pandemic. So it’s hard to even make a case there.”
Election integrity and and security concerns addressed early
Beals reiterated that elections in Virginia are secure and reliable.
“In Virginia, we have some of the most experienced election officials in the country. They have already conducted two statewide elections this year and have provided 138 days of early election day voting for Virginia voters as of today,” she said. Because Virginia has elections each year, Beals said, “our election officials have a great depth of experience in handling issues that come up for voters at the polls.”
Beals added that election officials in the commonwealth have worked throughout the year to ensure that the elections are safe.
“In terms of security concerns, we have been meeting for many months with our state and federal law enforcement partners to plan for today,” she said. “We’ve had several meetings where we’ve run through various scenarios to make plans.”
Beals couldn’t speak to the specifics of those plans but asserted again “we’re very confident that we’re going to have a safe and secure election in Virginia day.”
U.S. Department of Justice officials are monitoring six localities in Virginia Tuesday to ensure compliance with federal voting laws, but Beals said that her department would have no information to share on that.
Election Day snags
Beals reported that the Department of Elections had been made aware of an incident at Precinct 310 in Richmond Tuesday morning, where election workers handed out federal-only ballots to at least 11 voters.
“That issue has still since been resolved. My understanding is that the officers of election gave out the incorrect ballot to the voters that had only a presidential race on the ballot,” she said.
Editor’s note: This is a developing story that will continue to be updated as more information becomes available.
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