Same Day Registration

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Same day registration allows someone to register to vote in person and immediately vote a provisional ballot after the deadline to register and vote normally has passed.

Deadlines for the November 3 - General and Special Elections:

Register to Vote/Update Registration through 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

FAQs

Yes. Beginning with the 2022 General Election, the General Assembly approved legislation that provides the ability to register at any time, up to and including Election Day.

Previously, registration was closed for the 21 days before an election; there was no ability to register to vote after this deadline. The new law allows registration, with limitations, during the 21-day period before an election.

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.

The general registrar’s office for your locality will research your ballot to gather registrar’s office will forward your ballot and the information gathered to the electoral board to review and approve or deny your ballot.

After you vote, you will be given a notice with the date, time, and place where the local electoral board will make a decision regarding your provisional ballot. You are entitled to attend this meeting, but you are not required to attend in order for your ballot to be counted. If your registration application is approved and there are no other issues, your ballot will be counted. If your ballot is not counted, you will receive written notice from your general registrar.

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.

The normal 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.

To find out the deadline to register for an upcoming election go to the top of this page.

You may same day register at the office of your general registrar or satellite location during the early voting period. On Election Day, you must go to the polling place for the precinct in which you reside.

Visit the Citizen Portal on the Virginia Department of Elections website or contact the Fairfax County Office of Elections at 703-222-0776 (TTY 711) or voting@fairfaxcounty.gov.

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FAQs

Is same day registration new in Virginia?

How is this different from how registration has previously worked?

What is a provisional ballot?

What happens to my provisional ballot after I vote?

How will I know if my provisional ballot is counted?

Who can same day register?

When can I same day register?

Where do I same day register?

How do I find my polling place?

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