[Archived] Absentee Voting Provides Options for Eligible Alexandria Voters

Absentee voting opens to eligible voters on Friday, September 17. The ballot includes the race for U.S. House of Representatives and three proposed amendments to the Virginia Constitution. City Election Officials anticipate a turnout of 30,000 to 35,000 voters for the 2010 General Election.

Lines of voters may be long, especially during morning and evening rush hours. 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 urges City 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 caregiver 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, 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 703.746.4050.

You can vote absentee in person or vote absentee by mail.

To cast your absentee vote in person, go to the Alexandria Voter Registration Office, 132 North Royal Street, Alexandria, Virginia, 22314. (Do not go to your usual polling place if you wish to exercise this option.) In-person absentee voting hours are as follows:

• Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Extended hours on October 12, October 18 – 21 and October 25 - 27, from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
• Saturdays: October 9, 23, and 30, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The deadline for voting absentee in person is Saturday, October 30, at 5 p.m.

To vote absentee by mail, download an absentee ballot application from www.alexandriavoter.org, or contact the Voter Registration Office at 703.746.4050 to get an application mailed to you. The last day to apply for an absentee ballot by mail or fax is Tuesday, October 26. The application must be received by the Voter Registration Office at 5 p.m. on that day.

Mailed absentee ballots must be received by the Voter Registration Office on or before Election Day, Tuesday, November 2, at 7 p.m.

For more information, call 703.746.4050.