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Tag: presidential election

Northam casts ballot on first day of early voting

Gov. Ralph Northam on Friday voted early in person at the Richmond general registrar’s office on the first day of Virginia’s 45-day early voting period. 

Amid the pandemic, Virginians, through a new law, are permitted to vote absentee by mail or in person at their local registrar’s office or satellite locations. Under legislation signed by Northam, Virginian voters do not have to provide a reason for early voting, which permits any Virginia voter to cast their ballot early. For in-person voting, Virginians can — starting Friday, Sept. 18 — vote absentee in person at their local registrar’s office until Oct. 31.

Traditional in-person voting will also be available on Nov. 3, Election Day, as usual. Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Nov. 3 and Virginia has allocated federal CARES Act funding for personal protective equipment at the polls. Virginia Medical Reserve Corps volunteers will also help at polls to ensure social distancing and sanitation measures are followed.

“Virginians can be confident their vote is secure, and will be counted,” Northam said in a statement. “While the pandemic has made this an unprecedented election year, Virginia voters have several safe and easy ways to exercise their constitutional right to vote. Voting is an essential part of our democracy, and I encourage every Virginia voter to know their options and make a plan for safely casting their ballot.”

Due to the pandemic, the Northam administration expects a higher number of Virginians to vote by mail for the 2020 election. The Department of Elections reported Thursday that it had received 824,000 requests for absentee ballots by mail — but in the 2016 General Election, only 566,000 absentee ballots were cast, half of which were by mail.

Virginians have several options to vote in the 2020 General Election including absentee by mail, absentee through drop-off locations, early in-person absentee voting and Election Day in-person voting. 

Virginia has allocated federal CARES Act funding for personal protective equipment at the polls. Photo courtesy Governor's Office
Virginia has allocated federal CARES Act funding for personal protective equipment at the polls. Photo courtesy Governor’s Office

Beginning Friday, Virginia general registrars will mail absentee ballots to voters who request them. The last day to request an absentee ballot by mail is Friday, Oct. 23 at 5:00 p.m. Absentee ballots include a return envelope with prepaid postage and must be postmarked by Nov. 3. All absentee ballots also include a barcode and election mail insignia for added security. Voters can track their ballot once it leaves the registrar’s office so a voter can know when it has been mailed to them and delivered back to the registrar.

Absentee ballots can also be hand delivered to the registrar’s office or be returned to a secure drop-off location. Locations are available through locality websites, and absentee ballots can also be dropped off at polling locations on Election Day.

 

 

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Va. Supreme Court denies Kanye West’s appeal

The day before Virginia’s absentee ballots were set to begin being sent out, the Supreme Court of Virginia denied an appeal from Kanye West’s campaign, a last-ditch effort by the rapper, producer and presidential candidate to appear on this year’s general election ballots.

On Thursday, the court dismissed without prejudice West’s appeal to the Richmond Circuit Court’s decision to disqualify him as a presidential candidate after two Suffolk County residents sued the Virginia Board of Elections on Sept. 1. They claimed that they were tricked into signing documents to become Virginia electors for West, an independent candidate who is widely considered a spoiler for President Donald Trump, although West has denied the claim.

The ruling says the Supreme Court of Virginia found it does not have jurisdiction over the case and that it was not “appropriate under the circumstances” to change the lower court’s temporary injunction, which disqualified West as a presidential candidate on this year’s Virginia ballots. The court also denied the appellants’ motion for a stay pending appeal, an administrative stay, a vacating summary or reversal as moot.

Plaintiffs Matthan Wilson and Bryan Wright were granted a temporary injunction by the circuit court Sept. 3, when Richmond Circuit Judge Joi J. Taylor ruled that 11 of 13 elector oaths submitted by West’s campaign in August were “obtained by improper, fraudulent and/or misleading means” or are invalid because of a notary’s “violations and misconduct.” Wilson and Wright said they didn’t know they would be expected to vote for West in the Electoral College and that they did not support his candidacy.

Taylor, in her ruling, also directed the elections board to “take all necessary measures … to provide notice to voters of Kanye West’s disqualification,” in the case of ballots already printed before the ruling. As for ballots that had not been printed, the board was prohibited from including West’s name.

Attorney General Mark Herring filed a brief Wednesday to the Supreme Court of Virginia arguing that “appellants are simply too late and the petition for appeal should be denied,” adding that all 133 localities have started producing ballots and are expected to begin sending batches by mail Sept. 18. Earlier in the week, Gov. Ralph Northam said there was a record-breaking number of requests for mailed absentee ballots — 790,000 statewide, as of Tuesday — due to the pandemic.

“I’m pleased the Supreme Court of Virginia agreed with me today and denied Kanye West’s appeal,” Herring said in a statement. “This case could have thrown the election into chaos, drastically changing the ballot and potentially disenfranchising tens of thousands of Virginians during an election that has brought challenges like none we have ever dealt with before. Today’s ruling will keep things on track and help to ensure that every single vote is counted in November.”

 

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VCU polls show Biden, Warner up by 50%+ in Va.

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and Democratic incumbent U.S. Sen. Mark Warner are both ahead of their opponents by double-digit margins, according to a statewide poll conducted from Aug. 28 to Sept. 7 by the Center for Public Policy at the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Biden (53%) is polling ahead of Republican incumbent Donald Trump (39%) by 14 points and Warner (55%) is polling ahead of Republican Daniel Gade (38%) by 17 points. VCU’s July poll also showed Biden ahead in July at 50%. A Roanoke College poll conducted Aug. 9 through Aug. 22 also showed Biden at 53% with Trump at 39%.

Biden has large leads in south Central Virginia (65%-22%), Northern Virginia (59%-32%) and Tidewater (56%-33%), while Trump has large leads over Biden in the western (63%-36%) and northwestern (58%-36%) regions of Virginia. The U.S. Senate race followed the same trend regionally as the presidential race. 

In terms of gender, women were more likely to prefer Biden over Trump by 22%, and men prefer Biden over Trump by only 5%. This is a shift, however, from a poll released by the Wilder School in July that showed that men were more likely to say they would vote for Trump. The U.S. Senate race followed the same trend in terms of gender as the presidential race. 

Among independents, Biden leads by 8% and Warner leads by 16%.

The poll also provided insight on Virginian’s opinions about vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris and mail-in voting.

“The VP choice by Biden doesn’t appear to have significant influence on any group,” former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder said in a statement. “I think the Biden camp needs do more connecting, particularly with minority communities.”

A telephone survey of 804 adults living in Virginia showed that 70% of Virginians say the election of Harris for vice president will have no impact on their decision to vote for Biden. Only half of the respondents said they are very or somewhat confident that mail-in votes will be accurately cast and counted. Republicans were more likely to be skeptical at 67%, while 68% of Democrats were more likely to trust the process.

 

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