Saturday early voting kicks off this weekend. Here’s what you need to know

Early voting in Virginia has been underway for over a month now, but until now, early voters could only cast ballots on weekdays. Starting this weekend, however, Virginians will be able to vote on Saturday, too. 

On Saturday, Oct. 28, and Saturday, Nov. 4, voters statewide who want to vote early, but can’t make it work during the week, will be able to cast their ballots at their local registrar’s office or a satellite voting location.

That second Saturday of early voting – Nov. 4 – is also the last day of in-person early voting in Virginia.

If you haven’t already requested a mail-in ballot, you’ll still be able to vote early if you apply for a mail-in ballot by Friday, Oct. 27, 2023. The request must be received by your local voter registration office by 5 p.m. that day, and you can easily make the request online. After you’ve received your ballot, you can return it in-person to your local election registrar’s office or at an absentee ballot drop-off location (info will be included in the ballot when it’s mailed to you) before 7 p.m. on Election Day (Nov. 7).

If you opt to return your ballot via mail, it must be postmarked on or before Election Day, and it must arrive at your registrar’s office by noon on the third day following the election (Friday, Nov. 10).

Also, if you’re not registered to vote but want to cast a ballot in this November’s election even though you missed the Oct. 16 registration deadline, you can still do so.

Virginia now allows “same-day voter registration,” which means that eligible voters can still register and cast their ballots simultaneously through Election Day. 

Through this process, voters will cast a provisional ballot—but don’t let the name scare you off, since as long as you’re eligible, it’ll count. After a provisional ballot is cast, the local registrar’s office will research whether the voter who cast that ballot is indeed eligible to vote in that locality. 

If the voter’s registration application is approved, the provisional ballot is then counted like a normal ballot. If for some reason the provisional ballot is not counted, the voter will be notified by the general registrar.