What it means for you
Before 2020, Virginians needed one of a list of approved reasons to vote absentee. Since July 1, 2020, any registered voter can vote by mail, or in person starting 45 days before Election Day.
Who benefits: Every registered voter in Virginia.
You no longer need a reason to vote before Election Day in Virginia. Until 2020, state law listed the reasons that let you vote absentee, and you had to claim one. The 2020 law deleted that list. Now any registered voter can vote absentee in any election they’re eligible for.
That gives you two simple options. You can vote early in person, starting 45 days before Election Day and ending the Saturday before. Or you can apply to have a ballot mailed to you. You don’t have to fill out an application to vote early in person.
Del. Charniele Herring and Sen. Janet Howell sponsored the bills, and Gov. Ralph Northam signed them on April 11, 2020. On HB 1’s final votes, four Republican senators and eight Republican delegates voted yes, along with every Democrat who voted.
Voting
Sources
- Absentee and Early VotingVirginia Department of Elections
- Code of Virginia § 24.2-700: Persons entitled to vote by absentee ballotVirginia Legislative Information System
- HB 1, 2020 Session: bill historyVirginia Legislative Information System
- SB 111, 2020 Session: bill historyVirginia Legislative Information System
How we checked this
Drafted by Claude Opus 5.5 (Anthropic) on November 11, 2026. Checked against its sources by GPT-5.6-sol (OpenAI) on November 11, 2026, which corrected it. Confirmed the current Virginia Code, enactment records, sponsors, signer, and both listed HB 1 roll calls. Corrected an attribution to separate permanent-absentee legislation and refreshed the status date.
Spot a mistake? Send a correction and we'll fix it.
