Title 24.2, Elections

A. As soon as the electoral board determines the persons who have received the highest number of votes for any office, the secretary shall make out an abstract of the votes for each of the following: Governor; Lieutenant Governor; Attorney General; members of the Senate of Virgin…

Immediately after the electoral board has determined the election results, the secretary shall make out certificates of election for each county, city, town, or district office other than an office shared by more than one county or city, or any combination thereof. The secretary …

The State Board, on receipt of the certified abstracts of the votes given in the several counties and cities, shall open the abstracts and record and carefully preserve them. The provisions of Chapter 37 (§ 2.2-3700 et seq.) of Title 2.2, the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, …

If the State Board has not received the abstracts of votes from any county or city within 10 days after any election, it shall dispatch a law-enforcement officer to obtain a certified copy of the abstract from an official having charge thereof. That official shall immediately, on…

A. The State Board shall meet by the first Monday in December to ascertain the results of the November election. If a majority of the Board is not present or if, for any other reason, the Board is unable to ascertain the results on that day, the meeting shall stand adjourned from…

Subject to the requirements of § 24.2-948.2, the State Board shall without delay complete and transmit to each of the persons declared to be elected a certificate of his election, certified by it under its seal of office. In the election of a member of the United States Congress,…

All special elections shall be superintended and held, notice thereof given, ballots prepared, returns made and certified, votes canvassed, results ascertained and made known, and certificates of election given, by the same officers, under the same penalties, and subject to the s…

A. Notwithstanding any charter or special act to the contrary, the following provisions govern the times for holding special elections. Every special election shall be held on a Tuesday. No special election shall be held within the 55 days prior to a general or primary election. …

Whenever the Governor, Speaker of the House, President pro tempore of the Senate, or either house of the General Assembly orders a special election, he, or the person designated to act for the house, shall issue a writ of election designating the office to be filled at the electi…

Notwithstanding any other provision of any law or charter to the contrary, the provisions of this section shall govern all referenda. No referendum shall be placed on the ballot unless specifically authorized by statute or by charter. Whenever any question is to be submitted to t…

In addition to other applicable requirements of law, the following requirements shall apply whenever a referendum election is initiated by voter petitions. The requirements of this section shall be construed to override any requirement of general or special law in conflict with t…

A. The provisions of this section shall be applicable to the holding of any referendum, elsewhere authorized by law, on the abolition of any constitutional office conducted prior to a request for a special act of the General Assembly to abolish such office. B. Notwithstanding any…

The provisions of § 24.2-685 shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to any county seeking to change its form of government pursuant to Chapter 3 (§ 15.2-300 et seq.) of Title 15.2 if the effect of such change in form would be the abolition of an existing office created pursuant to Sectio…

A. The governing body of any county, city or town may provide for the preparation and printing of an explanation for each referendum question to be submitted to the voters of the county, city or town to be distributed at the polling places on the day of the referendum election. T…

Any registered voter may vote by absentee ballot in accordance with the provisions of this chapter in any election in which he is qualified to vote.

Any registered voter who is confined while awaiting trial or for having been convicted of a misdemeanor may vote by absentee ballot. Subject to penalties for interference with voting pursuant to § 24.2-1005.2, the institution or facility in which such voter is confined shall: 1. …

A. The Department shall furnish each general registrar with a sufficient number of applications for official absentee ballots. The registrars shall furnish applications to persons requesting them. The Department shall implement a system that enables eligible persons to request an…

A. Absentee voting in person shall be available on the forty-fifth day prior to any election and shall continue until 5:00 p.m. on the Saturday immediately preceding the election. In the case of a special election, excluding for federal offices, if time is insufficient between th…

A. The governing body of any county or city may establish, by ordinance, voter satellite offices to be used in the locality for absentee voting in person. The governing body may establish as many offices as it deems necessary. No change in, including the creation or abolishment o…

A. Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, a covered voter, as defined in § 24.2-452, may use a federal write-in absentee ballot in any election. Such ballot shall be submitted and processed in the manner provided by the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting …

Any person who is eligible for a military-overseas ballot as defined in § 24.2-452 may file a single application to receive ballots for all elections in which he is eligible to vote absentee. The application shall be on a federal postcard application. An application from any pers…

A. Any registered voter shall be eligible to file a special application to receive absentee ballots for all elections in which he is eligible to vote. Such application shall be on a form approved by the State Board. The absentee ballots sent to a voter on the permanent absentee v…

A person with a disability or illness who has applied for and has been sent an absentee ballot who did not receive or has lost the absentee ballot on or before the Saturday before the election may obtain a replacement absentee ballot. In such case, the voter may request a replace…

A. The application for an absentee ballot shall provide space for the applicant to indicate that he will require assistance to vote his absentee ballot by reason of blindness, disability, or inability to read or write. B. On receipt of an application from an applicant who indicat…

A. Any person registered and otherwise qualified to vote may request at any time prior to 2:00 p.m. on the day preceding the election that he be permitted to vote by emergency absentee ballot with the assistance of his designated representative. The Department shall prescribe a f…

A. On receipt of an application for an absentee ballot, the general registrar shall enroll the name and address of each registered applicant on an absentee voter applicant list that shall be maintained in the office of the general registrar with a file of the applications receive…

A. On receipt of a mailed absentee ballot, the voter shall (i) open the sealed envelope marked "ballot within" and (ii) mark and refold the ballot, as provided in §§ 24.2-644 and 24.2-646 without assistance and without making known how he marked the ballot, except as provided by …

A. The general registrar of each county or city shall establish at the office of the general registrar and each voter satellite office in operation for an election a drop-off location for the purpose of allowing the deposit of completed absentee ballots for such election. On the …

A. Any person who has applied for and received an absentee ballot may choose not to vote absentee and shall be entitled to cast a ballot in accordance with the provisions of this subsection. 1. The voter may, prior to the day of the election, return the ballot to the general regi…

A. Any ballot returned to the office of the general registrar or to a drop-off location in any manner except as prescribed by law shall be void. Absentee ballots shall be returned to the general registrar or to a drop-off location before the closing of the polls. Any voter who is…

A. On receipt of an absentee ballot returned in person or by mail to the office of the general registrar or to a drop-off location before election day, the general registrar shall mark the date of receipt in the voter's record and shall examine the ballot envelope to verify compl…

If, in the processing and counting of absentee ballots, any machine-readable ballot is damaged or defective such that it cannot properly be counted by the electronic voting systems, a true duplicate copy shall be made of the damaged or defective ballot by a team of election offic…

A. The provisions of this subsection shall apply only to those localities not using an electronic pollbook. On the day before the election, the general registrar shall (i) make out in triplicate on a form prescribed by the State Board the absentee voter applicant list containing …

A. Before the polls open, the officers of election at each precinct shall mark, for each person on the absentee voter applicant list, the letters "AB" (meaning absentee ballot) in the voting record column on the pollbook. The pollbook may be so marked prior to election day by the…

A. The Secretary, in coordination with local election officials, shall implement a free-access system by which a voter may determine: 1. Whether the voter's application for an absentee ballot has been received and accepted; and 2. Whether the voter's absentee ballot has been rece…

A. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the governing body of each county or city shall establish one or more central absentee voter precincts in the courthouse or other public buildings for the purpose of receiving, counting, and recording absentee ballots cast in the cou…

The provisions of this section shall apply in the case of an emergency that will not allow sufficient time for the distribution and handling of absentee ballot applications and absentee ballots, in accordance with the procedures of this title, for qualified voters who are unable …

A. The provisions of this article apply to all elections held in the Commonwealth. B. When there is between any candidate apparently nominated or elected and any candidate apparently defeated a difference of not more than one percent of the total vote cast for the two such candid…

A. The petition for a recount of an election, other than an election for presidential electors, shall be filed within 10 days from the day the State Board or the electoral board certifies the result of the election under § 24.2-679 or 24.2-671, but not thereafter. The petition sh…

A. The petition for a recount of an election for presidential electors shall be filed no later than 5:00 p.m. on the second calendar day after the day the State Board certifies the result of the election under § 24.2-679, but not thereafter. Presidential candidates who anticipate…

A. The State Board of Elections shall promulgate standards for (i) the proper handling and security of voting systems, ballots, and other materials required for a recount, (ii) accurate counting of votes based upon objective evidence and taking into account the voting system and …

A. Within seven calendar days of the filing of the petition for a recount of any election other than an election for presidential electors, or within five calendar days of the filing of a petition for a recount of an election for presidential electors, the chief judge of the circ…

A. For the purposes of this section: "Overvote" means a ballot on which a voter casts a vote for a greater number of candidates or positions than the number for which he was lawfully entitled to vote and no vote shall be counted with respect to that office or issue. "Undervote" m…

A. Costs of the recount shall be assessed against the counties and cities comprising the election district when (i) the candidate petitioning for the recount is declared the winner; (ii) the petitioners in a recount of a referendum win the recount; or (iii) there was between the …

A. This section applies to any general or special election of members to the General Assembly. B. A contest of the election of any member to the General Assembly may be initiated by an unsuccessful candidate in the election, referred to hereafter as the contestant. To initiate a …

In any election for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, or Attorney General, notice of the intent to contest the election shall be filed with the Clerk of the House of Delegates as prescribed in § 24.2-803. The provisions of § 24.2-803 shall govern standing, notice of intent to contes…