Prince William County is expected to see a sharp rise in the number of early voters and mail-in ballots for the November 2020 election, according to a presentation by general registrar Michele White.
Earlier this year, the Virginia General Assembly passed a no-excuse early voting law which allows people to vote early both in-person and via mail ballot without providing an excuse for doing so.
Taking both the coronavirus and the new law into consideration, White projects a dramatic increase in mail-in ballots:
“Due to COVID, we processed an astounding number of mail ballots compared to previous June primaries. We expect this trend to continue as Virginia transitions,” White said.
Following White’s presentation to the Prince William Board of County Supervisors on Tuesday, July 21, Woodbridge District Supervisor Margaret Franklin asked about what changes the Office of Elections is anticipating in regards to the coronavirus.
“It’ll be very similar to what we did [during a recent Primary Election on June 23], and that’s why I do expect a significant uptick with early voting. So, what happened was the reasons you needed to have an absentee ballot have gone away. It’s no-excuse early voting. So, anyone who’s registered to vote can show up and be provided a ballot once they’re checked in… or, if they want to have a ballot mailed to them, they simply fill out a request form,” White answered.
Currently, there are 292,000 registered voters in the county, but White believes this number could climb to 314,000.
In addition to the number of registered voters climbing, voter turnout could reach 90% for the 2020 election, as compared to 72% in 2016.
“While I realize that is a very high number, that actually could happen, and staff and I need to be absolutely prepared for any number of voters that could show up to vote, however they wish, considering the tone around this election,” White explained.
White also provided a list of things that every voter interested in voting by mail should know:
- The deadline to request your ballot is Friday, October 23
- Online requests for November mail ballots are now being accepted online
- If you prefer a paper request for a ballot, call the Office of Elections at (703) 792-6470 and press “0”
- Ballots will not be mailed out until mid-September
- If you do not receive your ballot or there’s an issue with your ballot, call the Office of Elections
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