Voter Guide: November 2024 General Election

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) – The upcoming General Election is Nov. 5, 2024, but early voting in Virginia begins much earlier — on Friday, Sept. 20. That’s the same day Virginians can start requesting absentee ballots.

10 On Your Side wants to help you be prepared before you submit your ballot, whether it be in-person, by mail, or submitted online using the Citizen Portal on the Department of Elections website.

Important Dates

Sept. 20 – Early voting begins at all general registrar’s offices. Some cities and counties offer early voting satellite locations. Dates and times vary by jurisdiction.
Oct. 15 – Deadline to register to vote or update an existing registration.
Oct. 16 – Same-day registration begins. Anyone registering and voting at the same time will have to cast a provisional ballot.
Oct. 25 – Last day to request an absentee ballot by mail or online. Request must be received by your voter registration office by 5 p.m.
Oct. 26 – Voter registration offices open for early voting.
Nov. 2 – Last day of early voting
Nov. 5 – ELECTION DAY
Nov. 8 – All mailed ballots must be received by the general registrar’s office by noon.
Nov. 15 – Deadline for local electoral board to certify provisional ballots
Dec. 2 – State Board of Elections certifies results.

To vote early in-person, registered voters should go to the general registrar’s office in the jurisdiction they are registered. You’ll need to present an accepted form of ID.

Some jurisdictions offer early in-person voting at satellite locations in addition to the general registrar’s office. Click here to see if there is a satellite location near you.

Early in-person voting dates and times vary by jurisdiction. Search for your locality at this link.

Servicemembers who don’t receive their absentee ballot in time may vote using a Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB), available at www.fvap.gov.

Voters with questions about absentee or early in-person voting can call their general registrar’s office or the Department of Election at 1-800-552-9745 or email info@elections.virginia.gov.

What is on Your Ballot?

See who is on your ballot by viewing the candidate lists from the Virginia Dept. of Elections.

Here are links to the sample ballots for the Hampton Roads cities.

Chesapeake
Hampton
Newport News
Norfolk (not available at this time)
Portsmouth
Suffolk (not available at this time)
Virginia Beach (not available at this time)

In addition to the presidential race, there are state and local offices in Hampton Roads in this election.

One of Virginia’s two US Senate seats is on the ballot. WAVY hosted statewide debate on October 2 between those two candidates: incumbent Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine and his Republican challenger, Hung Cao.

All of Virginia’s 11 House of Representatives seats are up for election this November.

Constitutional Amendment

A proposed constitutional amendment will also be voted on statewide in this election. The ballot question is:

Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended so that the tax exemption that is currently available to the surviving spouses of soldiers killed in action is also available to the surviving spouses of soldiers who died in the line of duty?

Chesapeake Referendum

There is only one local referendum on the ballot, in Chesapeake. The subject matter is curbside recycling and the ballot question is:

“Should City Council adopt an ordinance imposing a mandatory fee of up to $10 per month on all households that receive City trash service in order to re-establish curbside recycling for those households only?“

There are dozens of candidates running for local offices in Hampton Roads, with races for mayor, city council, school board, and more, including some special elections.

10 On Your Side reached out to Virginia candidates in contested races with representation in Hampton Roads, with the request for a bio and a list of questions to answer.

Click here to view the Virginia Candidate Profiles for the Nov. 5, 2024 General Election. If a candidate’s page does not include a profile, we did not receive one.

Voting on Election Day

Polls are open in Virginia from 6 a.m. until 7 p.m. on Election Day.

Anyone in line by 7 p.m. on Election Day will be able to vote. Accessible and curbside voting is available by request.

Be sure to bring an eligible ID with you when you show up at your assigned polling place. You can look up your polling location at this link.

Voter Resources

Virginia is an open primary state, meaning voters don’t have to be registered with a party ahead of time to participate in that party’s primary. Though they will have to pick one party’s ballot when they do go to vote. Those will also include races for any nonpartisan local positions.

Who can vote?

To register to vote in Virginia, you must meet these criteria, according to the Virginia Department of Elections.

Be a resident of Virginia (a person who has come to Virginia for temporary purposes and intends to return to another state is not considered a resident for voting purposes).
Be a U. S. Citizen.
Be 18 years old (any person who is 17 years old and will be eighteen years of age at the next general election shall be permitted to register in advance and also vote in any intervening primary or special election).
Not be registered and plan to vote in another state.
Not currently declared mentally incompetent by a court of law.
If convicted of a felony, your right to vote must have been restored.

Those without a valid Virginia Driver’s license or state ID can still vote by signing an ID statement affirming their identity or vote via provisional ballot.

For instructions to register to vote and to register, click here.

North Carolina

The WAVY viewing area also covers part of Northeast North Carolina.

Polls are open on Election Day in North Carolina from 6:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m.

NC voters can check their registration status using the Voter Search tool on the State Board of Elections website.

Important Dates:

Sept. 20 – Boards of elections begin distribution of military and overseas absentee ballots
Sept. 24 – Absentee ballots distributed to all others who requested one.
Oct. 11 – Voter Registration Deadline
Oct. 17 – In-person Early Voting Begins
Oct. 29 – Absentee Ballot Request Deadline
Nov. 2 – In-person early voting ends (3 p.m.).
Nov. 5 – General Election
Nov. 5 – Absentee ballot return deadline (7:30 p.m.).*