2025 Virginia Voting Info

Virginia Social Workers: Cast Your Vote!

 

General Election: November 4, 2025

Early Voting Starts: Sept. 19-Nov. 1

Voter Registration Deadline: Oct. 24

 

Request a mail-in ballot online or by mail: Now-Oct. 24. 

Return a mail-in ballot or deliver to a drop box or your registrar by Nov. 4; mail-in ballots must be received by noon November 7. You also can return the ballot at your polling place Nov. 4. Be sure to follow ALL instructions on both the ballot and return envelope.

 

Know your voter rights! 

 

 

Important Voter Dates and Links

• Where and how can I register to vote? Voting is social work! Register online here. Visit www.elections.virginia.gov/citizen-portal for more information on registration. Voter forms can be found here.

• How do I change or view my voter information? Check or make changes online to your voter information here. NASW Virginia strongly suggests all voters check their registration information prior to October 24 to ensure the information is current, complete, and not accidently purged. 

• How does same-day registration work? If you register to vote after Oct. 25, you must cast only a provisional vote (don’t worry, it will still count if you follow the directions). Virginia allows same-day registration but only in-person at the general registrar’s office for your locality, at your satellite early voting site during the early-voting period, or at your precinct on Election Day, Nov. 4.

• Who is running? See the latest 2025 November Virginia Statewide Offices Candidate List.

• When does early voting start? Sept. 19-Nov. 1, 2025, for the November 4 general election.

• Where can I vote early? All localities offer early voting, and you can only vote early in the jurisdiction in which you’re registered. For all early voting and ballot dropbox information, contact the general registrar's office for the jurisdiction where you are registered. For a link to more information, choose your locality in the dropdown here. 

• What identification do I need? Only one form of valid identification is needed to vote in our state, and here’s the list.  

• I’m a college student. What should I know about voting in Virginia? Visit the Board of Election’s College Student voter page at this https://www.elections.virginia.gov/registration/college-student-info.

• Where is my polling place? Look it up here or contact your General Registrar for more information.

• Where can I learn about accessible voting? This Virginia Board of Elections accessible voting page will help anyone who needs assistance or accommodation to vote. Learn about curbside voting here.

• How can I view the ballot ahead of time? Visit VPAP.org (the Virginia Public Access Project) or VOTE411.org (League of Women’s Voters nonpartisan voters’ guide) to view your ballot and candidates’ position statements.

• How do I access my Virginia voter record (to update registration, apply to vote absentee, and view my polling place, election district, absentee ballot status, and voting history)? Visit here.

• How do I become a paid poll worker? Virginia is actively seeking poll workers and provides all training. See here for info and to apply.

• Who do I contact with other voting questions? Access your local voter registration office at elections.virginia.gov/LocalGR or contact the Virginia Department of Elections at (800) 552-9745 or info@elections.virginia.gov.

• How do I vote by absentee ballot? Vote absentee in person here. 

• Can I check the status of my mail-in ballot? Yes, instructions for easy monitoring are here.

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The Power of Your Vote

Voting is one of the most powerful ways to advocate for social work and your clients. NASW has a long, proud history defending voter rights and participation. Calling it a “fundamental right,” NASW outlines in Social Work Speaks (its approved policy guide book) that it opposes voter suppression such as 

 

• implementation of what could be considered “poll taxes,” 

• purging voter registration rolls of “ineligible voters” in ways that disproportionately impact minority and vulnerable populations; 

• disenfranchising for life those people convicted of a felony (both those who are imprisoned and those who have served their time), 

• burdensome voter identification laws, 

• intentional limits on voting access sites or narrow early-voting periods, and 

• voter fraud misinformation (Voting in the United States is actually very secure and safe.) 

 

In addition, the NASW Code of Ethics requires social workers to advocate for social change, particularly with and on behalf of vulnerable and oppressed people (NASW, 2017). This includes supporting education of marginalized populations about their rights as eligible voters and U.S. citizens.   

 

RESOURCES

See this list of resources to answer the most common questions about voting in Virginia, especially since there have been many changes in the past three years, ranging from types of accepted identification to early-voting periods to redistricting. 

 

• NASW Voting Information Microsite: How to increase voter participation, why voting is social work, how social workers can influence political change through voting and voting promotion

• NASW Social Justice Brief: Voter Intimidation: A Tool in the Far-Right’s 2024 Strategic Plan. Written by NASW Senior Policy Advisor Mel Wilson, LCSW, MBA.

• How to participate in National Voter Registration Day September 16, 2025

• What is NASW’s Political Action for Candidate Election (PACE) Committee? Learn more about NASW’s political arm here.

• How can I join the Virginia PACE Committee? Contact Executive Director Debra Riggs at driggs.naswva@socialworkers.org if you are interested in learning more about this important committee to identify and endorse local Virginia candidates who will advance social work values and policy priorities. 

 

5 Important Points to Remember to Get Your Vote Counted

1. Your voting site may have changed, thanks to redistricting. Virginia has changed its legislative districts, so don’t find yourself confused or disappointed on Election Day. You can see a map version of the final redistricting here. Find your polling place here.  You’ll find more information here.  

2. Voting early is easy and convenient. Virginia has some of the best early in-person voting opportunities in the nation. You’ll find a 45-day period to cast your vote at a range of local sites during business. As elections near, some hours are even on Saturdays in certain districts during late October prior to a November election. 

3. Confirm your voter registration OR get registered before the deadline. Don’t miss the deadline to register to vote or to update your voter registration information by October 24! 

4. Virginia offers a wide range of acceptable identification options that confirm you are you, so you can vote. College and university social work students: Your school identification card is acceptable identification to vote. This goes for schools that are public and private, local, or even not local to Virginia. Other options include voter confirmation documents, current utility bills and banking statements (within the past 12 months), a signed ID confirmation statement, driver’s licenses, Department of Motor Vehicles-issued IDs, passports, and more. Click here for more ID information. 

5. All absentee votes MUST have a witness signature to be considered valid. This requirement was waived during the COVID-19 pandemic emergency, but it is back in effect in 2025. The witness does NOT have to be a register voter, but does need to be over age 18.

 

Voting News

• Gerrymandering: Can Virginia enter the fray of redrawing voter districts to favor one party or another in the way that Texas Republicans—countered with equal threats by California and New York--have been rushing to finalize the addition of five new districts prior to the November elections out of concern that the party will lose its 2025 majority in the U.S. House of Representatives? While congressional redistricting should not be crafted by partisanship, the reality is that both Democrats and Republicans in nearly every state have each dabbled in or redrawn voter districts to try to favor the majority party at various times. This has raised concerns of whether Virginia may mimic that risky behavior, which research shows particularly disenfranchises minority voters. However, in 2020, Virginia adopted a process using a bipartisan redistricting commission that, “while flawed, insulates the commonwealth from craven, partisan stunts such as these,” writes The Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press Editorial Board August 5, 2025. Learn more here.

 

• Trump Threatens Mail-In Voting and Ballot Boxes: Many states are pushing back against the administration’s targeting of mail-in voting and ballot boxes, possibly through either an executive order (which does not acknowledge that states manage their own electoral processes) or the congressional legislative process. One in three voters vote by mail-in ballot. Read more here. 

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Still have voting questions? No worries. Visit the Election Board’s FAQ page for answers.

 

NOTE: Please check this interactive voter district map to ensure you know if your voting location and district have changed. Read or download the announcement that includes the map.