We’ve gathered information from various sources to make it easy for you to vote in the November 2024 election; if you have questions not answered below and you live in the City of Charlottesville, check the City’s Office of Voter Registration and Elections (“Registrar’s Office” for short) website or phone them during office hours (Monday-Friday 8:30am-4:30pm) at 434-970-3250 or email them at vote@charlottesville.gov.
REGISTER TO VOTE
If you need to register to vote in the November 5 election, need to update your name or address on your existing registration, or want to check your registration status, you have these options:
- Go online to the Virginia Voter Information Citizen Portal. If you have a driver’s license or other ID card issued by the Virginia DMV, you can register or update your registration online (but it must be done before October 16 so you can vote a regular ballot). If you don’t have such an ID, you can download the form from the website, fill it out (and maybe save a copy!), and then return it to the Registrar’s office in-person, or send by postal mail or email, or by dropping the form into the Registrar Officer’s drop box marked “City of Charlottesville Official Ballot Drop Box” (located directly outside of the Registrar’s office and available 24/7) beginning on September 20.
- Come in-person to the Registrar’s Office, City Hall Annex, 120 7th St. NE, Room 142 through October 15, 2024, or register and do Early In-Person Voting (with a provisional ballot) at the Registrar’s Office October 16-Nov 2.
- Register at your Precinct polling place on Election Day and submit a provisional ballot.
Notes:
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- An ID is not required to register to vote.
- If you register to vote on or after October 16 (either at the Registrar’s Office during Early Voting, or at your polling location on Election Day), you’ll vote a “provisional ballot”, which gives election officials additional time to verify your registration information before counting your vote.
VOTING OPTIONS
(In-Person Early, In-Person Election Day, By Mail)
Since local mail delivery unfortunately remains somewhat slow and unreliable locally, we recommend these first two in-person voting options for those who are able to (and curbside voting from a car is available for those with physical limitations).
In-Person Early Voting
One compelling advantage of choosing Early Voting is that, once your vote is cast, you’ll very quickly stop receiving phone calls, texts, and door knocks from political campaigns; once they know you’ve already voted they’ll stop spending time and money trying to persuade you!
- Early In-Person Voting begins Friday, September 20, and ends Saturday, November 2, at the Registrar’s Office (City Hall Annex,120 7th St. NE, Room 142) and is available:
- Monday – Friday 8:30am to 4:30pm (Thursdays until 6:00pm).
- Saturday, October 26, and Saturday, November 2, from 8:30am – 5:00pm.
- Curbside voting from a car is available to anyone with a disability, limited mobility, or who is over age 65; just pull into one of the marked parking spaces and call 434-970-3250 when you arrive at the Registrar’s Office.
- Bring your ID (see this overview of Virginia’s voter ID policies and this list of acceptable forms of ID) or be prepared to fill out and sign an ID Confirmation Statement (note that making a materially false statement on it is punishable as a felony).
- If for any reason you’re not currently registered to vote in Virginia (e.g. just turned 18, just moved to VA from out-of-state, had your voting rights restored after a felony conviction) and turn in your voter registration application before October 16, Virginia has a 5-day waiting period (for verifying your information) before you can be eligible to vote.
In-Person Election Day Voting (Tuesday November 5, 6am-7pm)
- Go to your precinct polling location: check where that is because 40% of polling locations were changed a few years ago! Either contact the Charlottesville Voter Registration Office at 434-970-3250 or go to iwillvote.com.
- Bring your ID (see this Virginia ID policy overview) and this list of acceptable forms of ID.
- Same Day Registration (new as of 2023): If you’ve not registered before November 5, you can still go to your designated precinct polling place (see above) to register to vote and cast a provisional ballot.
We recommend using one of the above two In-Person options if possible, since local mail delivery remains somewhat unreliable.
By Mail (Absentee Ballot) Voting
- Request your Ballot in one of two ways:
- Voters already registered in Virginia can apply online for a ballot until October 25 at the Virginia Voter Information Citizen Portal; given the slowness of the mail, apply as early as possible. You can apply for a ballot at the Voter Registration Office (Registrar’s Office, address above), but once Early Voting begins, if you’re going to that office anyway, you may as well do Early In-Person Voting and get it done right then and there!
- The Registrar’s Office starts sending requested ballots about 45 days prior to an election (around September 20 this year). To track your ballot’s progress on its way to you, you can check Ballot Scout (after September 20). If you don’t receive your ballot by mail within a couple of weeks, check Ballot Scout or, if you don’t have internet access, call the Registrar’s Office.
- Submit your Ballot (carefully completed!) in one of three ways:
- Turn in your completed ballot to a Voter Registration Office staff member, or
- Drop it into the 24/7 Ballot Drop Box outside the Voter Registration Office, or
- Mail it in so it’s postmarked no later than Election Day November 5 and received no later than Noon on Friday, November 8. Charlottesville is still having some problems with slow and unreliable Postal Office mail delivery, so do both steps, ballot request and ballot submission, as soon as possible!
Restoration of Voting Rights
If you’ve been convicted of a felony, you must restore your voting rights before registering to vote.
Scan the QR code in the bottom left corner of the accompanying blue graphic to see if your voting rights show as being restored. If not, use this same site (or use this link: https://cov-ror.azurewebsites.net/Search) to request restoration of rights.
Voting Options for University of Virginia (UVA) Students
The UVA Center for Politics’ website page Registering & Voting FAQs is a great source for fuller information than we can provide here.
UVA Students registered to vote in another Virginia city or county must either vote in-person in that city/county or request an absentee (mail in) ballot by October 25, 2024 (request it today, easy to forget if you delay!).
Local Voter Registration Options
If you want to be registered to vote locally, where you register and where you vote depend on the street address of your housing; both on-Grounds and off-Grounds housing can be either City of Charlottesville or Albemarle County. For on-Grounds housing, see UVA’s list current as of 8/27/2024 below, but that list gets periodically updated, check with the appropriate City or County office to confirm for your residence.
- City of Charlottesville residents can register with the City’s Charlottesville’s Registrar’s Office (contact options and details at very top of this document)
- Albemarle County residents you can register through its Office of Elections: email voterregistration@albemarle.org or call 434-972-4173
- All UVA Students can register online through the Virginia Department of Elections or in-person at UVA’s Center for Politics (465 Crestwood Drive, Charlottesville VA 22903).
In-Person Voting Locations for UVA Students
Early Voting — check the hours of operation of the City or County elections office, depending where you live.
Election Day (November 5) — you must vote at your designated Charlottesville or Albemarle precincts on Election Day. Best is to look up your polling place in advance of Election Day on iwillvote.com or on the Virginia Department of Elections website. Most but not all students who live in on-Grounds housing can vote at Slaughter Rec (an Albemarle County polling location), but confirm in advance whether this applies to you.
Thank you for voting: your vote is your voice!!
Other Links
- How to Get Involved with the Cville Dems
- Upcoming Elections
- City of Charlottesville’s Interactive Map of Charlottesville Precincts and Polling Places
[updated 09/20/2024]
