Fredericksburg-area registrars prepare for surge in absentee voting – Fredericksburg.com

Like other area voter registrars, Marc Hoffman is urging Fredericksburg residents to apply for an absentee ballot due to concerns about the coronavirus pandemic. He anticipates that about 60 percent, or 6,197 of the city’s registered voters, will choose this option.

“It’s likely this number will rise or fall based on the COVID-19 public health reality in our community throughout the administration of the election,” said Hoffman, who is also the city’s director of elections.

Fredericksburg and the Town of Orange were the only localities in the region to hold elections May 19. Residents were urged to vote absentee due to the pandemic, and a total of 2,876 did so, constituting about 75 percent of all ballots cast.

Area registrars all said they expect a significant percentage of voting for the Nov. 3 presidential election will be done by absentee ballot or by those taking advantage of the new early in-person voting option.

The May elections and the recent primaries were the last in which Virginians were required to provide an excuse for voting absentee. The new Democratic majorities in the General Assembly have made voting access a priority, and bills passed during the last session did away with the excuse requirement and now allow by-mail and in-person voting to start 45 days before Election Day.

“To get an absentee ballot, a registered voter must request one through the Registrar’s Office, which accepts or rejects the application,” King George County General Registrar Lorrie Gump wrote in an email. “When someone is approved to vote absentee, election officials mail the voter an absentee ballot, which they complete and return by mail. Officials can reject absentee ballots if they are improperly filled out, and voters face steep penalties if they falsify any information.”

Currently, only five states conduct their elections through a mail-in process that’s often referred to as all-mail voting, she said. Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Utah and Washington mail ballots to registered voters’ address before Election Day, and voters can either mail them back or deposit them at a voting location or secure drop box by a deadline.

“In these states, the term absentee ballot can specifically refer to a ballot that is requested by a voter who will be out of the state (e.g., for college, traveling, etc.) at the time of the election, and so can’t receive their ballot at their registered address,” Gump said. “Gets a bit confusing, but they are basically the same thing, just different terms and ways each state handles them.”

In Virginia, absentee ballots can be returned via the U.S. Post Office, UPS or FedEx; or dropped off at the registrar’s office in the voter’s locality. Hoffman will have a drop-off box for absentee ballots at the entrance to Executive Plaza at 601 Caroline St., which is where his office is located. It will be monitored by a security camera.

To vote in person prior to Election Day, a voter can go to his or her local voter registrar office or a satellite location if that’s available. Voters have to show proper identification, just as they would on Election Day, and will receive a ballot, vote and place the ballot in a scanner. Voting equipment compatible with the Americans with Disabilities Act will be available.

“We do this each day for the 45-day period. (Our system will then display who has already voted—either by mail or in person),” Kellie Acors, Spotsylvania County’s director of elections and general registrar, wrote in an email.

Each location’s days and hours may vary, so it’s advisable to check in advance. Acors, for example, is expecting 400 to 500 people a day to vote in person prior to election day, and is lining up a location near her office in Southpoint I that will allow for social distancing.

Anna Hash, Stafford’s general registrar, thinks roughly 35,000 county residents will vote early in the presidential election, either by absentee ballot or in person beginning Sept. 18 at either the Stafford County Government Center on Courthouse Road or a satellite location that will be announced.

“If a voter receives an absentee ballot in the mail and wants to return it in person rather than through the mail, this can be done at the Registrar’s Office in the government center,” she wrote in an email. “A voter can only return his/her own ballot.”

James Clements, Culpeper County’s general registrar, said that his office has already received more requests for absentee ballots than it did for the 2016 presidential election. Like other registrars, he is planning to have all polling precincts open on Election Day.

“We believe it is healthier to spread the number of voters out versus building the numbers in fewer locations,” he wrote in an email. “This will require Election Officers. We are always looking for more help.

“Anyone interested in serving should contact our office. We will also have to increase the number of people handling absentee ballots simply because the volume will be much higher.”