VOTER REGISTRATION
You must be registered to vote at your current address in order to vote in Virginia. You are eligible to vote in Arlington if you currently live in Arlington County. If you recently moved, we recommend you change your voter registration as soon as you can to make sure you’re eligible to vote in our upcoming elections.
Helpful links:
Same-Day Voter Registration Is Here!
You can register to vote at your polling place beginning the day after the voter registration deadline for each election. Thanks to the Virginia Voting Rights Act passed in 2020 under a Democratic legislature, you can register for the first time or update your current registration on the spot. If you register same-day, you will fill out something called a “Provisional Ballot,” which means Arlington’s Electoral Board will adjudicate, or confirm, whether a ballot is valid the day after the Election. This is to give the Elections Office time to process your eligibility to vote in that election. To register on the same day you vote, simply go to your polling place or early voting location.
Registration Deadlines:
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Presidential Primary: February 12, 2024
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June Primary: May 28, 2024
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November General: October 15, 2024
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Want to help register others to vote?
Come talk to us! Our Voter Support team runs frequent voter registration drives throughout the year. Send them an email! We are happy to assist you in running your own drive or helping in one of ours.
You can also get training through the Virginia Department of Elections.
GET YOUR VOTING RIGHTS RESTORED
The right to vote is essential to our democracy. We believe in restoring voting and other civil rights to formerly incarcerated people.
To have your voting rights restored, you must go through the Virginia Board of Elections instead of our local elections office.
Helpful Links:
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Request a Copy of the Grant Order to prove that your rights have been restored by the Governor.
MAIL VOTING
We encourage you to use our flexible voting options to make sure your voice is heard in any Primary or General Election.
To vote by mail, request an Absentee Ballot through Virginia’s Citizen Portal. The elections office will then mail you a ballot starting 45 days before the election you requested a ballot for. You can find additional ways to apply for a mail ballot on Arlington’s Elections website.
You can also request to be on the Permanent Absentee list. This means that you don’t have to continue to reapply for a mail ballot each election. The election office will automatically send you a ballot for each election in which you are eligible to vote.
To vote with your mail ballot, fill it out securely at home and follow ALL instructions given to you with your ballot and on the envelope. Read carefully! Your ballot must be postmarked by election day and it usually must be received by 12pm the Friday following election day. If it is less than 10 days before the election date, just to be safe, we recommend you return your ballot another way (below) rather than by mail just in case it doesn’t arrive in time or gets lost in the mail.
You can also return your mail ballot in person at the Elections Office in the Bozman Government Center (2100 Clarendon Blvd, 3rd Floor), at an early voting location during its open hours, or at one of Arlington’s permanent 24/7 drop boxes.
Helpful Links:
EARLY VOTING IN-PERSON
You can now vote early in-person in Virginia starting 45 days before an election.
Early voting takes place on business days from 8am-5pm at Courthouse Plaza (2100 Clarendon Blvd., Suite 320).
Closer to the election date, typically two weeks before, Arlington opens more early voting locations and expands its hours to include some evenings and weekend times to vote early in person.
More information about specific dates, times, and locations of early voting will be made available by the Arlington Elections Office before each new election. Check back here or Arlington Elections for more information about specific elections!
Helpful Links:
WANT TO HELP ON ELECTION DAY?
There are many ways you can help preserve our democracy on Election Day!
1. Poll Greeting
Our Voter Support and Precinct Operations teams are always looking for Democrats to greet voters at the polls! If you’re interested in helping with early voting, contact Voter Support. If you’re interested in helping on Election Day itself, contact Precinct Operations.
2. Be a Poll Worker
If you’re interested in working at the polls as an Elections Office, either for Election Day or during Early Voting, the Arlington Elections Office has you covered. Learn more about what you can help with, what training you need, and sign up to be a poll worker.
3. Other Volunteering with Arl Dems
We’d love your help throughout the year as we gear up for multiple elections! 2024 is a big year. You can help with everything from helping to get out the word about elections and our candidates, helping with yard signs, and helping with the logistics of each upcoming election. If you’re interested in helping, whether for an hour or for a year, sign up at our volunteer form.
Virginia does not have Party Registration. In order to vote in the Democratic Presidential Primary, you request a Democratic Ballot at your polling location, no questions asked.
SCHOOL BOARD DEMOCRATIC ENDORSEMENT VOTE (SBEV)
Election Days:
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Sunday, May 5 at Washington-Liberty High School
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Wednesday, May 8 at Hoffman-Boston Elementary School
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Saturday, May 11, 2024 at Charles R. Drew Elementary School
Every year, Arlington Democrats runs a process to endorse a candidate running for school board for the upcoming general election later that year.
Why don’t we hold a Primary? School Board seats are nonpartisan and are not allowed to have a (D) or (R) next to their name on the general election ballot. This means these candidates cannot be selected as a candidate through the normal party primary system. Instead, we vote on who we will endorse as a party. This process is run entirely through Arlington Democrats without the administration by the Arlington Elections Office or Electoral Board.
In 2024, Arlington Democrats will have three days (above) during which voters can vote in person. Voters can also choose to vote online.
Please see our SBEV page for more information on registering, voting times and locations, and our online voting process.
JUNE PRIMARY
Election Day: Tuesday, June 18, 2024
Registration Deadline: May 28, 2024
Last Day to Request Mail Ballot: June 7, 2024 by 5 pm
Our June Primary is when we select the Democratic Nominees for our local offices, including County Board and Constitutional Offices, state legislative races, and federal races such as the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate.
Ranked Choice Voting:
Our County Board Primary currently uses Ranked-Choice Voting. We will have more information about this type of voting closer to the June Primary. In the meantime, you can look at Arlington Elections’ explainer. Right now, County Board races only use this in the Primary.
Why don’t we use Ranked Choice for other races? In 2023, Arlington was the first County in Virginia to pilot a ranked-choice voting system for local races. The Arlington County Board chose to only adopt it for the Primary. The process by which we select Constitutional Officers and our state legislators is specified in Virginia law. Without amending our laws or our state constitution, these races must use a traditional primary system. The Arlington County Board is currently exploring using Ranked-Choice Voting for the General Election.
Please check back here for more information on voting times and locations and a sample ballot.
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