Become a Votebeat sponsor

Graphic of the Week: Early voting takes off in Virginia

(Graphic Francois Barrilleaux / Votebeat)

This week I bring you a graphic that I made with data from the Virginia Public Access Project. The map shows how much early voting has already increased in Virginia’s 2021 gubernatorial election compared with the one in 2017. Even with more than a week of early voting left, Virginia is smashing its 2017 early voting numbers, with places like the city of Hampton, north of Norfolk and Virginia Beach, experiencing a whopping 371% increase in early votes compared with 2017.

The map also shows that areas in Northern Virginia — home to Alexandria, Arlington, and other D.C. suburbs — are seeing much less dramatic increases in early votes so far. The rural western portion also appears to be lagging behind counties in the interior of the state in early vote increases. The number of early voting locations and their schedules vary widely from place to place in Virginia.

So why are we seeing these huge increases? Many experts are pointing to the pandemic as having boosted interest in early voting since 2020. In addition, Virginia recently introduced no-excuse absentee voting and eliminated its ID requirements for voting, all of which appear to be driving these huge increases. 

I’m no expert on the Virginia electorate, so if you see any trends in the map that I missed, reach out and let me know at fbarrilleaux@votebeat.org.

The Latest

A technical committee will soon review proposed changes to certification guidelines for voting systems. Local officials worry about the potential cost — and the impact on public faith.

The state’s in-house system has limitations that make it impractical for big cities. A committee is looking at commercial alternatives.

The voters were warned they would be moved to the inactive list if they didn’t respond. The Recorder’s Office said it was a printing error.

Groups like Rank MI Vote want the state to adopt the method that was just used in New York City’s mayoral primary.

If approved, the accord would close out four years of litigation over a 2021 law that drew a challenge from groups representing voting rights groups.

Confrontation shapes up as a preview of next year’s gubernatorial contest, in which the secretary of state is a leading contender.