Virginia Absentee Ballot Process

You may now request an absentee ballot online! Just fill out and submit this form before the deadline.

Beginning in 2018, first time voters who registered through the mail may now vote absentee if you can't make it to the polls on Election Day! To do so, all first-time voters will have to mail a copy of one of the below forms of ID with their absentee ballot:

• Valid photo ID
• Current utility bill
• Other government document that confirms name and address

All voters are eligible for absentee voting if you:

• In the regular and orderly course of your business, profession, or occupation or while on personal business or vacation, will be absent from the county or city in which you are entitled to vote.
• Are a student attending a school or institution of learning, or a student's spouse, who will be absent on the day of election from the county or city in which you are entitled to vote.
• Are unable to go in person to the polls on the day of election because of a physical disability, physical illness, or pregnancy.
• Are confined while awaiting trial or for having been convicted of a misdemeanor, provided that the trial or release date is scheduled on or after the third day preceding the election. If you are awaiting trial and are a resident of the county or city where you are confined, you may be taken to the polls to vote on election day if your trial date is postponed and you did not have an opportunity to vote absentee.
• Are a member of an electoral board, registrar, an officer of election, or custodian of voting equipment.
• Are registered but unable to go in person to the polls on the day of the election because you are primarily and personally responsible for the care of an ill or disabled family member who is confined at home.
• Are a duly registered person who is unable to go in person to the polls on the day of the election because of an obligation occasioned by your religion.
• Will be at your place of work and commuting to and from your home to your place of work for 11 or more hours of the 13 that the polls are open (6:00 am to 7:00 pm).
• Any person who is (i) a member of a uniformed service of the United States, as defined in 42 USC 1973ff-6(7), on active duty, or (ii) a member of the merchant marine of the Unites States, or (iii) who temporarily resides outside of the United States, or (iv) the spouse or dependent residing with any person listed in (i), (ii), or (iii), and who will be absent on the day of the election from the county or city in which he is entitled to vote. Find out more about Military and Overseas voting here.
• Any person serving as a designated representative of a political party, independent candidate or candidate in a political party.

• Any person serving as a designated representative of a political party, independent candidate or candidate in a political party
• Are a first responder

You may request a mail ballot for presidential and vice-presidential electors only by writing across the top of your absentee application request ballot for presidential electors only. If you vote a presidential only ballot, you may not later decide to vote the rest of the ballot. The same procedures and deadlines apply as for other absentee applications and ballots.

How to Vote Absentee

You can contact your local voter registration office to request an absentee ballot application. You can either return the completed application to your local voter registration office by mail or fax. To receive a ballot by mail, your absentee ballot application must be received in your local voter registration office by Tuesday before the general election. If you send it by fax the original must also be mailed and received by the registrar before returned ballot is requested on Election Day. Alternatively, you can download the Virginia absentee ballot application (pdf format) at your state's website. You must complete a separate absentee ballot application for each election in which you intend to vote absentee. The absentee ballot application must be received in your voter registrar's office by 5 p.m. on the Tuesday prior to Election Day.

You can check the status of your absentee ballot with the Absentee Ballot Status Look Up tool.

Emergency Absentee Voting

You can apply for an emergency absentee ballot if you:

• Become ill or incapacitated on or after the 7th day before an election
• Are hospitalized on or after the 14th day before an election, but still in the hospital and unable to request an absentee ballot before 7 days before an election
• Bereaved by a "family member"
• Other comparably incapacitating emergency found by the Electoral Board to justify providing an emergency ballot application.

If you meet these requirements, you can have a designated representative request an absentee ballot through the day before the election. You must complete the application and deliver it to the local registrar's office by 5pm the day before the election. Voted ballots must be returned before the polls close on Election Day.