Virginia elections, 2013

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The state of Virginia will hold elections in 2013. Below are the dates of note:

• Signature filing deadline: March 28, 2013 (Note: The deadline to file for the general election for Independent party candidates is June 17 and June 11 for non-party candidates.)
• Voter registration deadline for Primary election: May 20, 2013
• Primary date: June 11, 2013. Virginia has an open primary system.
• Voter registration deadline for General election: October 14, 2013.
• General election date: November 5, 2013. Same day registration is not permitted. Voter ID is required. If a voter arrives without identification he or she will have the opportunity to cast a provisional ballot and then deliver a copy of their ID to the local election board.

On the 2013 ballot
U.S. Senate	d
U.S. House	d
State Executives	a
State Senate	d
State House	a
Ballot measures (0 measure)	d

Special elections

State Senate District 14

In early April 2013, Sen. Harry Blevins (R) announced his retirement effective August 5. A special election has been called for August 5. A filing deadline has not yet been set.

Related: See election information here.

See also: Virginia state legislative special elections, 2013

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;

Elections Performance Index

See also: Pew Charitable Trusts' Elections Performance Index

Virginia ranked 25th out of the 50 states and District of Columbia in the Pew Charitable Trusts' Elections Performance Index (EPI), based on the 2010 elections. The EPI examines election administration performance assigning an average percentage score based on 17 indicators of election performance. The indicators were chosen within the framework of determining the convenience and integrity of each of the three administrative phases of an election: registration, voting and counting. Virginia received an overall score of 65%.

See also

• Statewide elections, 2013
• 2013 election dates
• Election result resources
• Voter guides
• State Blue Books
• Voting in Virginia
• Absentee voting
• Early voting