(Intro)

Hello Virginians. If you want to vote, first you need to make sure you're registered to vote. There's a link in the description where you can check on your registration status right now. If you aren't registered, or if you've moved since the last time you voted, you can register online using the link in the description as long as you have your social security number and a Virginia driver's license or state ID. If you don't have a Virginia driver's license or ID - maybe you don't drive or maybe you're a college student from another state - you can go to the same registration website to fill out a form, but at the end, you're gonna have to print it out and mail it in. Whichever way you register, you have until October 17th if you want to vote in the November presidential election.

Great, so assuming you're now registered, you get to vote. In most cases, you're going to be voting in person on November 8th, but you can vote absentee by mail if you will be out of state on election day. That includes if you are a student in another state but would prefer to vote in Virginia, or if you have an illness, disability, work shift, or religious belief that prevents you from going to the polls. If any of those apply to you, you can request a ballot using either the online form or mail in form below. You can request your ballot any time between now and November 1st, 
but the sooner you get your request in, the longer you will have to look the ballot over, research candidates, and vote before you send it in by November 8th.

If you qualify to vote absentee by mail, you can also go vote in person at your local registrar's office between September 23rd and November 5th. There's a link to find the early voting locations and hours for your county.

For the rest of you, you can head to the polls on November 8th from 6 am to 7 pm. There's a link in the description you can go to to find out where you should go to vote. You'll need to bring an ID with you, too. A Virginia Driver's license, state ID, passport, employee ID, veteran's ID, or student ID from a college or university in Virginia all work.

You can also go to the same website you used to check your registration and voting location to find a sample ballot. Your sample ballot tells you everything you'll be able to vote for in addition to the presidential election. You don't have to vote for every single thing on the ballot, but if you want a chance to do some research on the candidates in your local elections, it's a pretty good idea to look at a sample ballot first. You can even fill it out and bring it with you to the polls, so you can remember exactly how you want to vote. There will be links to everything you need to find out if you're registered, to register, and to find your polling location down in description below. Thank you for voting.