Voters can request an absentee ballot online, in person at the Office of Elections, by fax (804-646-7848), or by email (Absentee@rva.gov).

Prefer the ease and comfort of voting from home? Virginia law allows voters the option to join a Permanent Vote By Mail Roster and have their ballots sent directly to their preferred address ahead of every election.

Click here to apply to Vote By Mail and join the Permanent Roster. Make sure you complete section 3 of the application. You can access the paper absentee application here.

The deadline to apply for an absentee ballot for the General Election is on Friday, October 27th 2023.

All absentee ballots, those sent by mail and those cast in-person, are counted on Election Day in Virginia. Ballots must be postmarked by Election Day or dropped off at the Office of Elections no later than 7:00 p.m. on Election Day.

IMPORTANT – Please mark your ballot using a black or blue pen.

What if I received an absentee ballot by mail but I want to vote in person?

1. Return your un-voted ballot by mail.
    • Leave or reseal your un-voted ballot in Envelope A and mail using the pre‐addressed return envelope.
    • You will receive a new ballot when you go to vote in person.
2. Take your un-voted ballot with you when you go to vote early in person or on Election Day.

Important! If you lost your absentee ballot, you can still vote in person. Notify the election official when you come in person to vote. If you choose to vote in person and do not return your un-voted ballot, you will be offered a provisional ballot which will be reviewed for counting after Election Day.

Ballot Drop Boxes were introduced in 2020 as an initiative to provide voters with a secure alternative option to return their ballot.
Ballot Drop Boxes provide voters with a safe, accessible, contact free method to return their voted ballot.

What You Need to Know

Drop Boxes are available to voters starting on the first day of Early Voting (Friday, September 22nd 2023).
Drop Boxes are available until 5 PM on the Monday before the election.
Following the last day to return absentee ballots via a drop box, ballots can be returned in person at the Office of Elections on Election Day, and on Election Day before 7 PM at any polling location in the city.

Drop boxes, which are monitored by video surveillance, are available to the public during normal business hours.

Ballots are collected daily from drop boxes by staff of the General Registrar.

Before you return your ballot:

Make sure you seal it inside Envelope B.
Fill in all spaces on the Statement of Voter on Envelope B. You and your witness must sign.
If you make a mistake marking your ballot, or if you lose or damage your ballot, please contact our office at (804) 646-5950 or at Absentee@rva.gov.

Drop Boxes are located at:

The Office of Elections
2134 W. Laburnum Avenue

Southside Community Services Center
4100 Hull Street Road

City Hall
900 East Broad Street

To track your ballot as it makes its way through the mail stream click here.

Voters in Richmond cast their ballot on a DS200. A DS200 is a ballot scanner and vote tabulator that is manufactured by Election Systems and Software (ES&S).

This is how the DS200 optical scan voting machines work: a voter marks a paper ballot and places her/his ballot in the optical scan machine. The machine electronically scans the ballot, records the vote, and informs the voter that the ballot has been cast. The machines also let the voter know if the ballot is blank or over-voted (voted for more candidates than allowed in a contest). When the polls close, the DS200 provides election results. In the case of a recount, there is a voter-verified paper audit trail for every vote. Voters who cast their ballot during Early Voting will use what is called an ExpressVote. An ExpressVote is a paper-based ExpressVote Universal Voting System that uses touch-screen technology that produces a paper record for tabulation. As a marker, the ExpressVote handles the entire marking process, eliminating unclear marks and the need for interpretation of the voter’s mark that usually occurs during a recount.

If you would like more information about election laws at the federal, state, and local level, click the links below to visit various resourceful and informational sites.

Federal Laws
Statues enforced by the Voting Section of the Department of Justice

State Laws
24.2 of the Code of Virginia

Local Laws
Ordinances regarding elections

Commonly referred to as the EAC, the United States Election Assistance Commission was created as a result of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) and is charged with developing guidance to meet HAVA requirements, adopting voluntary voting system guidelines, and serving as a national clearinghouse of information on election administration. EAC also accredits testing laboratories and certifies voting systems, as well as audits the use of HAVA funds.
United States Election Assistance Commission

Our drop boxes are constructed of durable material able to withstand vandalism, removal, and inclement weather. Our drop boxes are all monitored by a video surveillance system. Our drop boxes are secured by a lock. Only members of our staff have access to the keys to the drop boxes. You can find more information regarding our drop boxes by clicking here.

The DS200 does not have a modem and are not connected to the internet.

The DS200 utilizes physical and system access controls including lockable doors, tamper-evident seals and access codes. These security safeguards cannot be bypassed or deactivated and alert election officials of unauthorized access while the unit is in storage, transport, preparation and operation.

The DS200 generates a detailed audit log of all actions and events that have occurred on the unit, which can be printed at any time. Every action and event, including access attempts, access of system functions and errors, is logged and timestamped.

The DS200 will only accept certified and approved USB flash drives that contain encrypted data sealed with the correct, FIPS-compliant, signed data key. As such, once an election official installs election programming, it is not possible for a separate device to interface with the DS200 in order to overwrite or change the election definition or system firmware.

The DS200 is a purpose-built tabulator. Its system functions are only executable during election events, in the manner and order intended by election officials performing their duties. The system performs a self-diagnostic test at startup, which alerts election officials of errors or changes to the system before any election data is introduced.

All data generated during the polls is encrypted and digitally signed. Additional hash validations ensure data integrity remains intact. The DS200 also generates a signed data key, ensuring that should unauthorized access of a unit occur, no other units can be affected through data transfer.

In an effort to promote transparency and improvement within our office, and to provide the public with a written historical document of every November election, we will release annual post-election reports that seek to tell the story of the election from the perspective of our staff and our election officers.

November 2021 Post-Election Report

Guidance for Authorized Representatives and Neutral Observers

1. Authorized Representatives:

1. One authorized representative of each political party or independent candidate in a general or special election, or one authorized representative of each candidate in a primary election, is permitted to remain in the room where the election is conducted at all times.
2. Representatives may serve part of the day and be replaced by successive representatives.
3. The officers of election have discretion to permit up to three authorized representatives of each political party or independent candidate in a general or special election, or up to three authorized representatives of each candidate in a primary election, to remain in the room.
4. The officers shall permit one such representative for each pollbook station.
5. However, no more than one representative for each pollbook station or three representatives of any political party or independent candidate, whichever number is larger, shall be permitted in the room at any one time.

2. Qualifications and Designation:

1. Each authorized representative must be a qualified voter of any jurisdiction within the Commonwealth of Virginia.
2. No candidate whose name is printed on the ballot may serve as a representative of a party or a candidate.
3. Each representative shall present a written statement, signed by the city chairman of the political party, the independent candidate, or the primary candidate as appropriate, designating them as a representative of the party or candidate. If the city chairman is unavailable, the state or district chairman may provide such a designation.

3. Observational Rights:

1. Authorized representatives are allowed to be close enough to the voter check-in table to hear and see what is occurring.
2. Such observation shall not violate the secret vote provision of Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution of Virginia or otherwise interfere with the orderly process of the election.
3. Any representative who is unable to hear or see the process may accept the chief officer of election’s decision or, is dissatisfied, may immediately appeal the decision to the local electoral board or general registrar.

4. Use of Handheld Wireless Communication Devices:

1. Authorized representatives are allowed to use handheld wireless communication devices.
2. However, they are not allowed to use such devices to capture a digital image inside the polling place or central absentee voter precinct.
3. The officers of election may prohibit the use of cellular telephones or other handheld wireless communication devices if they are using their device to capture digital images from within the polling place.

5. Prohibited Assistance:

1. Authorized representatives are not allowed to provide assistance to any voter.
2. They are also prohibited from wearing any indication that they are authorized to assist voters either inside the polling place or within 40 feet of any entrance to the polling place.

6. Enforcement and Removal:

1. The officers of election may require any person found to be in violation of state election law to remain outside of the prohibited area.

7. Neutral Observers:

1. A local electoral board or general registrar may authorize in writing the presence of additional neutral observers as deemed appropriate.
2. These observers shall not provide assistance to any voter or wear any indication that they are authorized to assist voters either inside the polling place, or within 40 feet of any entrance to the polling place.
3. The officers of election may require any person found to be in violation of state election law to remain outside of the prohibited area.