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Early voting for the Nov. 7 election is underway and will conclude on November 4. According to Suffolk’s Registar’s Office, as of Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2,572 of the 71,948 or 3.57% of registered voters have come out to cast their votes. 

There have also been 1,355 absentee ballots processed between Oct. 16 and Oct. 17. Those wishing to vote absentee have until Friday, Oct. 27 at 5 p.m. to request a mail-in ballot. Those requests should be made through the form made available at https://vote.elections.virginia.gov/VoterInformation

Suffolk’s General Registrar Burdette Lawrence said this election has been heavier than the General Election in 2022 up to this point. 

“Turnout for this election has been heavier than the November 2022 General Election,” Lawrence said. “ We’ve never had over 50 voters on Day One, but this year, we had over 100, which was exciting for us.” In fact, since early voting began, there have only been two days where voting totals fell short of the 100 mark.

Of the 32 precincts, Lake Cohoon has seen the highest turnout with 271 votes, with Driver close behind at 217.

In some areas, absentee ballots were mistakenly sent out with outdated language requiring a witness and voter signature in order for the ballot to be counted. This year, Virginia’s General Assembly passed legislation eliminating the requirement that both the voter and a witness sign an absentee ballot for it to be counted. Fortunately, Lawrence said that was not the case in Suffolk.

Since 2020, Virginia has offered “no excuse” early voting, meaning voters no longer need to state their reasons or voting early to receive a ballot. The date also marked the first mailing of absentee ballots to voters who applied to vote by mail.

All early voting will take place at the Voter Registration Office located at 440 Market Street, First Floor. The last day for early voting is Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023. 

Election Day voting takes place at the voters assigned voting precinct only. Voters can view assigned voting precincts or view/change their voter registration information through the https://vote.elections.virginia.gov/VoterInformation or contact the Registrar’s Office at 757-514-7750.