Apply to Vote via Mail, email, or Fax
Given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we recommend absentee voting as the safest way for you to cast your vote this November.
If you wish to apply via paper, please print out the Virginia Absentee Ballot Application.
If you wish to submit your “Vote by Mail” application form by mail, fax, or email, please follow the steps below:
- Download and complete the Vote by Mail Application Form – (En Español) (Tiếng Việt) (한 국어)
- Return the completed and signed form to your local registrar’s office by mail, fax, or scanned attachment to an email. Contact information for your local general registrar’s office is available using the Virginia Department of Elections online lookup tool.
- After the registrar processes your application, you will receive your ballot in the mail. Please note: ballots can be mailed out to applicants starting 45 days prior to the relevant election date.
- Carefully review the instructions to complete and return your ballot to your local registrar by 7:00 p.m. on Election Day. If you are returning your ballot by-mail, it must be postmarked on or before Election Day and received by your registrar by noon on the third day after the election.
Identification
For persons who registered to vote in Virginia by mail, federal law requires them to show identification (ID) when voting for the first time in a federal election if they did not send a copy of one of these IDs with their voter registration applications. Recent legislation has eliminated the differences in acceptable identification for in-person voting. Therefore, the special federal ID requirements only apply to certain absentee voters by mail who will be notified by a notice explaining the requirements sent with their absentee ballot. Voters who receive a notice about these special requirements need to include a copy of any of the following types of ID with the voted ballot:
A current and valid photo ID (for example a driver’s license);
or a current utility bill, bank statement, government check or paycheck that shows name and address;
or another government document that shows name and address (for example a voter card). If the voter returns an absentee ballot by mail without a copy of one of these forms of ID, the absentee ballot will be treated as a provisional ballot and counted only if the voter provides a copy of ID to the electoral board by the deadline applicable to all voters.
If the voter returns an absentee ballot by mail without a copy of one of these forms of ID, the absentee ballot will be treated as a provisional ballot and counted only if the voter provides a copy of ID to the electoral board by the deadline applicable to all voters.
October 12th, 2020 is the deadline for registering to vote in the general election.