[Archived] Absentee Voting Provides Options for Eligible City Voters

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 23, 2008    

The City of Alexandria anticipates a historic turnout of approximately 72,000 voters for the 2008 Presidential election. Alexandria election officials and City departments are doing their part to prepare, but lines of voters may be long. Voting at the polls may be difficult for people with special needs, caregivers of family members who are ill, and residents who commute outside the city.

The City’s Office of Voter Registration and Elections advises residents in these circumstances to consider voting by absentee ballot. Many Alexandria voters are eligible, but relatively few take advantage of this option. There are several qualifying circumstances. For example:

• You commute and work for 11 of the 13 hours the polls are open. (Take into account those days when traffic is heavy or the weather is bad and it takes longer than usual to get to and from work.)
• You are a caretaker for a confined family member.
• You are unable to go to the polls in person on Election Day because of an illness or disability.
• You will be absent from Alexandria on Election Day because of work, or school, or vacation.

To learn more about these, and other circumstances in which absentee voting is an appropriate option, visit www.alexandriavoter.org and click on “Absentee Voting,” or call 703.838.4050.

You can vote absentee in person at the Alexandria Voter Registration Office, 132 N. Royal St., or by mail. In-person absentee voting hours are Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Voting hours will be extended to 7:30 p.m. on the following weekdays: October 16, 20, 22, and October 27. The office will also be open for absentee voting on each Saturday in October and on Saturday, November 1. The deadline for voting absentee in person is Saturday, November 1, at 5:00 p.m.

If you wish to absentee vote by mail, download an application from www.alexandriavoter.org, or contact the Voter Registration Office to get an application mailed to you. The last day to apply for an absentee ballot by mail or fax is Tuesday, October 28. The application must be received by the Voter Registration Office at 5:00 p.m. on that day. Absentee ballots by mail must be received by the Voter Registration Office on or before November 4, at 7:00 p.m. For more information, call Tom Parkins, Registrar of Voters, at 703.838.4050.