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Voter Registration

Deadlines for the November 3 - General and Special Elections:

Register to Vote/Update Registration through Friday, October 23
- Online (Citizens Portal): 11:59 p.m. on October 23
- By mail: postmarked on or before October 23
- In person: 5 p.m. on October 23
Same-day registration begins on October 24. You can same-day register at:
- Early voting locations from October 24 through 31
- Your precinct polling place on Election Day

Have a valid Virginia DMV driver's license or state ID card.
Be a citizen of the United States.
Be a resident of Virginia.
Be 18 years old on or before the next general election
(if you are 17, you can still register and vote in elections if you will be 18 on or before the next general election).
Be qualified to preregister to vote by being at least 16 years old but not 18 years of age on or before the day of the next general election.
(Please note that preregistered individuals are not entitled to vote.)
Not currently convicted of a felony or judged as mentally incapacitated and disqualified to vote.

Virginia driver's license or state ID.
Your Social Security number.
Your date of birth.

Whether or not you consent for your DMV signature to be used to register to vote and apply for an absentee ballot.
Whether you have read the terms of the Privacy Act Notice. (Warning: intentionally voting more than once in an election or making a materially false statement on this application constitutes the crime of election fraud, which is punishable under Virginia law as a felony. Violators may be sentenced up to 10 years in prison, or up to 12 months in jail and/or fined up to $2,500.)

Visit the Fairfax County Office of Elections, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Same day registration: Beginning 10 days before an election, residents may register to vote and vote a provisional ballot at any early voting location or, on election day at the polling location for the precinct where they reside. To find out more about see Same Day Registration below.

The deadline to register to vote is 11 days before the election for general, primary, and special elections. However, if the special election is called by the governor, the deadline is 7 days before the election. After the deadline to register, Virginia citizens may complete a voter registration form at an early voting location, or on election day at the polling location for the precinct in which they reside and cast a provisional ballot. Virginia law requires a voter on election day to cast their ballot at their precinct polling place.

After completing the voter registration form on a provisional ballot envelope, same day registration (SDR) voters mark a ballot and seal it in the envelope.

SDR applications are processed in the days following the election, then the Electoral Board determines which provisional ballots are to be counted. For the SDR ballot to be considered, the voter registration form must be completed fully and correctly and, if completing an SDR on election day, the voter must complete the SDR process at the polling place for the precinct in which they reside.

To place your ballot in the voting machine yourself or to vote absentee, you must register to vote prior to the registration deadline for that election. To read more about the SDR process, go to Same Day Registration

No. All online (and mailed) registration applications submitted after the normal deadline prior to an election are not processed until after election day. To register after the deadline and vote in the immediate upcoming election, you must do so at a voting location and immediately vote a provisional ballot.

Provisional ballots are used by voters who do not appear on the list of registered voters at their polling location. Provisional ballots are not processed by a vote counting machine at the time of voting but rather are subject to approval by the local electoral board prior to the ballot being counted.

After you vote your provisional ballot, you will be given a notice showing the date, time, and place where the local electoral board will meet after the election. You are entitled to attend this meeting to discuss the reason for your provisional ballot, but you are not required to attend for your ballot to be counted. The general registrar’s office will examine your ballot envelope and look into your situation and provide information to the electoral board for consideration. The electoral board will then determine whether your ballot should be counted.

If your Same Day Registration application is accepted, you will be registered to vote. Your provisional ballot will likely be counted if there are no issues that would prevent it. One example of an issue that could prevent your provisional ballot from being counted is voting on election day at some polling location other than the precinct where you reside. On election day you must vote at the polling place in the precinct where you reside.

If your ballot is not counted, you will receive written notice from the elections office.

Any person qualified to register to vote is eligible. However, if you are already registered in a different locality and seeking to update your registration, you may be eligible to cast a non-provisional ballot, rather than the provisional ballot used for same day registration. Your general registrar or officer of election at your polling place can provide further information about eligibility.

You can find this information by contacting the Fairfax County Office of Elections.

703-222-0776 TTY 711

voting@fairfaxcounty.gov

12000 Government Center Parkway Suite 323
Fairfax, VA 22035

No.

If you turn 18 on or before the date of the general election in November (first Tuesday in November), you may vote in the general election and also in a primary election for federal offices held prior to that election.

You may call, email, or visit our office and request a duplicate.

The easiest way is online through the Virginia Department of Elections Citizen Portal. Alternately, you may complete a paper application. Download one here or find a an application at libraries, Board of Supervisor offices, and at our office. For more information on voter registration, visit the Virginia Department of Elections website.

No! A voter must complete their own application. It is a felony to impersonate someone else on an election document. She may register to vote in the county/town where she is living while attending school or in Fairfax County using her family’s home address.

You may do this online through the Virginia Citizen Portal. Alternately, complete a paper copy of a voter registration application to register to vote when you arrive in your new county. This will automatically cancel your registration in Fairfax County.

On this page download the “Request to Cancel Voter Registration” form to complete and mail or email (Voting@fairfaxcounty.gov) to our office.

Virginia does offer its voters the ability to Same Day Register. To learn how Same Day Registration works in Fairfax County, go to our Same Day Registration page.

Perhaps! For information on felony convictions, voter eligibility, and restoration of rights, visit the Virginia Department of Elections website.

Office of Elections

Office of Elections Alert:

Department Resources

Related Resources

Voter Registration

Deadlines for the November 3 - General and Special Elections:

Register Online

Register In Person

Register By Mail

Same Day Registration

FAQs

Forms

Recent Interactions

Ask Fairfax

Related Resources

Office of Elections

Office of Elections Alert:

Department Resources

Related Resources

Voter Registration

Deadlines for the November 3 - General and Special Elections:

Register Online

Requirements to register online

What you will need to have with you

What you will be asked

Register In Person

How to

Register By Mail

How to

Same Day Registration

How does same day registration (SDR) work?

To save time, may I register online after the normal deadline then go to a precinct and vote a provisional ballot?

What is a provisional ballot and what happens to my provisional ballot after I vote?

Who can same day register?

How do I find my polling place?

FAQs

Do we register by party in Virginia?

I registered to vote before my 18th birthday. Am I eligible to vote in the November election?

I lost my voter registration notice. Or: I submitted a voter registration application but did not receive a voter notification card. What can I do?

How do I check my voter registration record or update my address or name?

My daughter is away at college. Can I register her to vote?

I am moving out of Fairfax County to another county in Virginia. How do I change my voter registration address?

I am moving out of state. How do I cancel my voter registration?

I heard Virginia now offers “same day voter registration.”

I have a felony conviction. Can I register to vote?

Forms

Recent Interactions

Ask Fairfax

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