Early voting begins in Virginia presidential primaries

Early voting in Virginia’s presidential primary elections begins today.

Virginia has a dual presidential primary election, meaning the Democratic and Republican parties hold primaries. They are March 5, but in-person early voting takes place from today through March 2.

Virginia is an open primary state, meaning voters can request a Democratic or Republican ballot. All qualified voters may vote in either primary, but not in both.

Six candidates will be on the ballot for the Republican primary: former President Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and Ryan Binkley, a pastor and CEO from Texas. Christie and Ramaswamy have withdrawn from the race.

Three candidates will be on the Democratic ballot: President Joe Biden, author Marianne Williamson and U.S. Rep. Dean Philips, of Minnesota.

Voting in a party’s primary does not mean the voter will be “registered” with that party, as the state does not have party registration.

However, a bill introduced in this year’s General Assembly would allow voters to register with a political party and give parties the option to restrict primaries to voters affiliated with that party.

Registered voters who want to vote early in-person need go to the general registrar’s office for the jurisdiction where they are registered and present their ID.

Starting today, requested absentee ballots will be mailed, including ballots to registered military and overseas voters. Registered voters can request an absentee ballot either in-person, by mail, online or by contacting their general registrar’s office. No reason is needed to request an absentee ballot.

Voters can drop off their absentee ballot at the general registrar’s office or polling location on Election Day. If voters return absentee ballots by mail, the ballots must be postmarked on or before March 5 and received by the general registrar before noon March 8.

The deadline to register to vote in the primary is Feb. 12. Anyone who registers after that date can vote using a provisional ballot. The deadline to apply for a ballot by mail is Feb. 23.