Early voting for November election begins in Virginia

With Congressional elections about a month and a half away, Virginians who want to cast their ballots early can begin doing so.

Registered voters can cast their early ballots in person at the general registrar’s office for the jurisdiction in which they are registered, according to a news release from the Virginia Department of Elections. Some jurisdictions also offer satellite locations for early voting in addition to offering them at the general registrar’s office.

As of Friday, the department has also begun mailing out absentee ballots to military voters, overseas voters and any person who has applied to receive an absentee ballot. Virginians do not need to provide a reason to vote absentee.

Early voting will continue through Nov. 5 and the date of the midterm elections is Nov. 8.

In Virginia, every Congressional district will hold an election. Some localities will hold school board and municipal elections, as well. Neither senator is up for reelection this November and there are no state-wide elections in the commonwealth this year. There also will not be any state legislature races this November.

The commonwealth’s second and seventh Congressional districts are both potential swing seats that could impact which party controls the House of Representatives next year. Democratic incumbent Rep. Elaine Luria is facing a challenge from Republican state Sen. Jennifer Kiggans in the second district. Democratic incumbent Abigail Spanberger is facing a challenge from Republican hopeful Yesli Vega in the seventh district.

Democrats hold narrow control of the House, but most models project that Republicans will gain enough seats to take the majority.