Virginia elections, 2012

2013 →

The state of Virginia held elections in 2012. Below are the dates of note:

• Signature filing deadline: March 29, 2012
• Primary date: June 12, 2012
• General election date: November 6, 2012

On the 2012 ballot			Click here for all November 6, 2012 Election Results
U.S. Senate (1 seat)	a	Preview Article
U.S. House (11 seats)	a
State Executives	d	N/A
State Senate	d	N/A
State House	d
Ballot measures (2 measures)	a	Preview Article

2012 Elections

Note: Election information listed on this page does not pertain to 2012 presidential elections. For more about Ballotpedia's areas of coverage, click here.
For election results in the 50 states, see our November 6, 2012 election results page

Elections by type

• U.S. Senate
• U.S. House
• Ballot measures

See also: United States Senate elections in Virginia, 2012

U.S. Senate, Virginia, General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Timothy M. Kaine	52.9%	2,010,067
	Republican	George F. Allen	47%	1,785,542
	Write-In	N/A	0.2%	6,587
Total Votes				3,802,196
Source: Virginia State Board of Elections "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in Virginia, 2012

Members of the U.S. House from Virginia -- Partisan Breakdown
Party		As of November 2012	After the 2012 Election
	Democratic Party	3	3
	Republican Party	8	8
Total		11	11

See also: Virginia 2012 ballot measures

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
LRCA	Question 1	Eminent domain	Would limit instances when private property could be taken for public use	a
LRCA	Question 2	State legislatures	Allows the legislature to delay the start of its veto session by up to one week.	a

Eligibility to Vote

Primary election

See also: Voting in the 2012 primary elections

Virginia is one of 19 states to use an open primary system. Voters were required to register to vote in the primary by May 21, 2012, which is 22 days before the primary took place . (Information about registering to vote)

General election

See also: Voting in the 2012 general elections

The deadline to register to vote is 22 days prior to the election day, which in 2012 was October 15.

• Voter ID info
• Residency requirements: Resident
• Same-day registration: None

Voting absentee

See also: Absentee Voting

2013 developments

A House subcommittee rejected a bill that would allow citizens to vote absentee without requiring a reason for doing so. The reason stated for rejecting the bill was a lack of resources. Win Sowder of the Williamsburg registrar's office said, "This would be a real burden on our office. Our office is really small and early absentee voting would set us up for failure."

However, a different bill by Delegate Daniel W. Marshall, III which would allow voters 65 and older to cast absentee ballots without an excuse was approved.

Eligibility

You are eligible to vote absentee in an election if you cannot make it to the polls on election day for one of the following reasons:

• you will be absent from the county or city in which you are entitled to vote, due to an obligation of business, profession, or occupation or while on personal business or vacation;
• you are a student, or spouse of a student, attending a school or institution of learning, who will be absent on the day of election from the county or city in which you are entitled to vote;
• you are unable to go in person to the polls on the day of election because of a disability, illness or pregnancy;
• you 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 request to 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);
• you are a member of an electoral board, registrar, officer of election, or custodian of voting equipment;
• you are duly registered and 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; or
• you are duly registered and unable to go in person to the polls on the day of the election because of an obligation occasioned by your religion.
• you are (i) a member of a uniformed service of the United States on active duty, or (ii) A member of the merchant marine of the United States, or (iii) you temporarily reside outside of the United States, or (iv) are 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;

Deadlines

To vote absentee a request must be received at least seven days prior to the election. The ballot must then be returned by close of polls on election day.

Military and overseas voting

For full details, visit the Federal Voting Assistance Program here.

Voting early

See also: Early voting

Virginia is one of 8 states which allow early voting but require an excuse to vote early. Early voting begins as soon as ballots become available and ends on the Saturday before the election.

To vote early you need to provide an excuse for why you will be unable to vote at the polls during normal voting hours. The following are valid reasons:

• you will be absent from the county or city in which you are entitled to vote, due to an obligation of business, profession, or occupation or while on personal business or vacation;
• you are a student, or spouse of a student, attending a school or institution of learning, who will be absent on the day of election from the county or city in which you are entitled to vote;
• you are unable to go in person to the polls on the day of election because of a disability, illness or pregnancy;
• you 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 request to 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);
• you are a member of an electoral board, registrar, officer of election, or custodian of voting equipment;
• you are duly registered and 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; or
• you are duly registered and unable to go in person to the polls on the day of the election because of an obligation occasioned by your religion.
• you are (i) a member of a uniformed service of the United States on active duty, or (ii) A member of the merchant marine of the United States, or (iii) you temporarily reside outside of the United States, or (iv) are 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;

See also

• Statewide elections, 2012
• 2012 election dates
• Election result resources
• Voter guides
• State Blue Books
• State Poll Opening and Closing Times (2012)
• Voting in Virginia
• Absentee voting
• Early voting