Early Voting (formerly known as absentee-in-person) and Vote-By-Mail begins 45 days prior to Election Day. Any qualified registrant can vote early by visiting the General Registrar’s Office or requesting to vote absentee by mail. Early voting will be available between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday (except holidays) and the last two Saturdays prior to any election from 9:00 to 5:00. The last day to vote early before any election is the last Saturday preceding the Election. Voting early does not require a reason and there is no application to complete. Early Voting will be conducted like a regular polling place. Curbside voting and/or accessible equipment available upon request. The qualified voter will need to provide some form of valid ID (photo ID is no longer required but certainly acceptable). Other forms of ID are voter confirmation notice received after registering to vote, a Virginia DMV-issued Driver’s License or Identification Card, valid US passport, any ID issued by the US, Virginia, or a local Virginia government, valid student ID issued by a public or private school in Virginia, an employer-issued photo ID card, any current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document with voter’s name and address. These are just a few examples of an acceptable ID. If a voter does not provide a valid form of identification, he/she may complete an ID Confirmation Statement. A voter who does not have an acceptable form of identification or refuses to sign an ID Confirmation Statement will be given the opportunity to vote a provisional ballot. That voter will have until 12 Noon on the Friday following the election to deliver a copy of the ID or sign and submit an ID Confirmation Statement to the local Electoral Board. Submission may be made by fax, email, in-person submission, or through the USPS or commercial delivery service. The copy of the ID or signed confirmation statement must be delivered by the Friday noon deadline in order for the provisional ballot to be counted.
Absentee voting by mail is still an option. Vote-by-mail does require that the registrant complete and submit an absentee ballot application. A qualified voter may request to vote by mail for a single election or to be placed on a permanent absentee list by contacting the Registrar’s Office by phone (921-2802 or 626-5544), by emailing govote071@gilescounty.org or applying on-line through the Virginia Department of Elections website: https://vote.elections.virginia.gov/VoterInformation. The last day to request an absentee ballot by mail is 11 days prior to the election.
Special Federal ID Requirements for Certain First-Time Absentee by Mail Voters: If an individual registers to vote by mail, federal law requires identification when voting for the first time in a federal election if he/she did not send a copy of an ID with the completed voter registration application. The special federal ID requirements only apply to certain absentee voters by mail. Notification will be sent to the voter with the absentee ballot explaining what type of documentation must be sent with voted ballot.