Overview of the Election Process
Who Conducts the Elections in Virginia?
- Local Electoral Boards
- Officers of Election
- General Registrars
- The Virginia State Board of Elections
Local Electoral Boards
Every city and county has a three-member Electoral Board. The following is a list of the main duties of your Electoral Board:
§ Appoints the General Registrar for your locality.
§ Appoints the Officers of Election for your locality.
§ Trains the Officers of Election.
§ Removes a General Registrar or Officer of Election who fails to discharge his or her duties.
§ Performs other duties assigned to it, including:
· Purchasing and maintaining the voting equipment used in your city or county,
· Preparing your ballots,
· Administering the absentee ballot process,
· Conducting the election,
· Certifying of the results of the election.
Officers of Election, also known as “Poll Workers”
There are Officers of Election in every polling place on Election Day. They have two primary jobs - to help you vote and to make sure all votes are properly counted. Their specific duties include:
§ Preparing the polling place for Election Day, including opening the voting machines and making sure they work properly.
§ Opening the polls to voters.
§ Checking voters’ identification to ensure they are eligible to vote.
§ Giving demonstrations of the voting equipment.
§ Offering assistance to any voter who requests it.
§ Directing voters to the voting machines.
§ Making sure each voter’s ballot is properly counted.
§ Maintaining order in the polling place.
§ Closing the polling place when the election is over.
§ Obtaining the count of votes from the voting machines and reporting the results to the Electoral Board.
Other information about Officers of Election:
§ As much as possible, political party representation should be equal at each polling place.
§ One officer is designated the Chief Officer and another the Assistant Chief for each polling place.
§ Officers of Election are paid both for attending required training before the election and for working on Election Day. The amount of payment varies from locality to locality.
General Registrar of Voters
Your General registrar is primarily responsible for registering voters and maintaining current voter registration records. Specifically his or her duties include:
§ Establishing and maintaining public places for voter registration
§ Participating in programs to educate the general public concerning registration and encouraging registration by the general public.
§ Providing the appropriate forms for citizens to register and to obtain the information necessary to complete the applications.
§ Accept a registration application or request for transfer or change of address submitted by or for a resident of any other county or city in Virginia. Registrars process registration applications and requests for transfer or changes of address from residents of other counties and cities and forward the completed application or request to the registrar where the voter lives.
§ Maintaining the registration records for his or county or city in the central registration system; preserving the written applications of all persons who are registered; and preserving for a period of four years the written applications of all persons who are denied registration or whose registration is cancelled.
§ If a person is denied registration, he or she will promptly notify that person in writing of the denial and the reason for denial.
§ Notifying by mail each affected voter of changes affecting his or her district or polling place.
§ Carry out any other duties as directed by his or her Electoral Board.
A Registrar can also:
§ go into a county or city adjoining to his or her locality to register voters of his locality when conducting registration jointly with the registrar of the adjoining county or city
§ staff for voter registration offices that are located at facilities of the Department of Motor Vehicles.
Your General Registrar cannot:
§ use any political bias when registering voters, sending absentee ballots or performing any other requirement of the job.
§ All his or her duties must be performed in a politically neutral manner.
More information about your General Registrar:
· The General Registrar is appointed by your Electoral Board to a four-year term
§ He or she can’t be removed, or not reappointed, because the party with a majority on the electoral board changes.
§ His or her salary is determined by the population of your city or county.
The State Board of Elections:
Who is on the State Board of Elections?
§ Composed of three members appointed by the Governor from among the qualified voters of the Commonwealth, and subject to confirmation by the General Assembly;
§ Two members are from the Governor's party and one from the party whose candidate received the second highest number of votes in the most recent gubernatorial election.
§ Board members serve four-year terms, overlapping the Governor's Term by one year.
Secretary the State Board of Elections:
§ The Governor designates one of the three members of the Board as the Secretary;
§ The Secretary is a full-time agency head;
§ The Secretary administers the agency and is empowered to employ the personnel required to carry out the duties required by the law.
Major Duties of the State Board:
§ To supervise and coordinate the work of the local Electoral Boards and Registrars to obtain uniformity in their practices and proceedings and purity in all elections.
§ To ensure that your local Electoral Board members and General Registrar are properly trained.
§ To create and approve the appropriate forms for the registration of voters and conduct of elections.
§ It may also institute proceedings for the removal of any member of any Electoral Board or other election official or Registrar who fails to discharge his or her duties according to the law.
§ It may request that the Attorney General, or other attorney designated by the Governor, assist the attorney for the Commonwealth of any jurisdiction in which election laws have been violated.
About elections in general
There are three types of elections in which you may vote:
Primary - One of the methods by which a political party may nominate its candidate.
§ Held in February of presidential election years to nominate candidates for president
§ Held in March for city governing bodies where permitted by charter, but held in February instead of March in presidential election years
§ Held in June for all other offices regularly scheduled to be elected in November
§ A primary may not be called for a special election to fill a vacancy unless the primary is to be held on the regular date set for primaries
General Election
§ Held in May for city and town governing bodies and school boards
§ Held in November for all other elected offices
Special Election
- Called by the Governor for a vacancy in:
· the U. S. Senate, or
· the U. S. House of Representatives
- Called by Governor, President Pro Tempore of the Senate or Speaker of the House, as appropriate, for a vacancy in the General Assembly; and
- Called by the Court of jurisdiction for any local office vacancy or local referendum.
When do elections occur? Click here to view the calendar of upcoming elections.
Who pays for elections? Your city or county pays for the costs of elections.
How do I register to vote in an election? Click here for information on voter registration.
What does a ballot look like?
About ballots in general:
§ The political party affiliation of candidates for statewide, federal and General Assembly offices in a general or special election are listed on the ballot. The following abbreviations are used:
· (D) for the Democratic Party
· (R) for the Republican Party
· (I) for an Independent (non-party) candidate
Exception - Presidential ballots contain the actual party name followed by "Electors for" and the name of the party’s candidates for president and vice president.
Paper Ballots
§ Paper ballots may be used in any town precinct that has less than 500 voters or any county or city precinct that has less than 750 voters. The governing body of the county, city or town may choose to use voting equipment in these precincts.
§ These ballots also are used by most voters who vote absentee by mail in counties, cities and towns using mechanical voting equipment at the polling place. The locality may choose a different form of ballot, such as a marksense ballot, to use for mailed absentee ballots.
Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) Voting Equipment Ballots
§ This voting equipment counts and records votes on a removable memory cartridge as well as in an internal memory system.
§ If more than one machine is used in the precinct, at the close of the election, an officer of election uses a device to capture and consolidate the data from all the voting machines.
Marksense Ballots
§ These paper ballots are read and counted by an optical scan reading device that is programmed for each election type.
What does the voting equipment look like?
There are several types of equipment approved for use in the Commonwealth of Virginia:
Click here to read about the voting equipment used in your city or county.
How do I know my voting equipment is accurate?
Under the Code of Virginia, the State Board of Elections must approve any mechanical or electronic voting system or equipment before it can be used by any locality.
Each system must successfully complete three distinct levels of testing:
§ Qualification testing (testing of hardware and software that may be conducted by Independent Testing Authority);
§ Certification testing (to ensure it meets all applicable requirements of the Code of Virginia); and,
§ Acceptance testing (conducted by the locality to assure it meets their needs and is identical to the certified system).
What happens at the polls on Election Day?
Officers of Election are there to assist voters and to assure that policies and procedures concerning the conduct of elections are followed.
Before the polls open they -
§ Welcome authorized representatives
§ Chief Officer administers Oath of Office to other officers
§ Set up polling place
§ Remove supplies, forms and materials
§ Confirm that pollbooks are separated into the same alphabetical divisions
§ Confirm that there is one Pollbook Count form for each alphabetical division of the pollbook
§ Confirm or enter identifying information at the top of each Pollbook Count form
§ Set up or post the appropriate signs inside and outside the polling place.
· Announce polls open at 6:00 AM
While the polls are open they -
§ Maintain Order
§ Offer Voting Equipment Demonstration
§ Provide instruction to voter in booth, if requested, but leave booth before voter votes
§ Provide assistance, if requested by voter
§ Voter and assistant must sign Request For Assistance before help can be provided
Exceptions- Neither blind voter nor his assistant may sign the Request
for Assistance. Officer prints required information.
§ Mark off next Pollbook Count number
§ Enter the pollbook count number
§ Direct voter to voting machine or voting booth, as appropriate.
· Takes entry slip from voter
· Activates voting machine
· After voter leaves, removes any campaign material left by voter
Before the polls close they -
· At 6:45 PM announce that polls will close in 15 minutes and, starting from the end of the line, make list of names of those in line to assure they will be permitted to vote if line continues after 7:00 PM closing of polls
After the polls close they -
· At 7:00 PM announce that Polls Are Closed.
· Welcome authorized representatives and check written authorization.
· After last voter has voted and left, enter “Polls Closed, (Actual) Time” on last page of each pollbook and assure that all officers sign below this entry.
· Remove provisional ballots from ballot container, place in sealed envelope and sign certification.
· Obtain results from machine and complete and sign two copies of the Statements of Results.
· Complete two copies of the Write-Ins Certification, if any.
· Call in unofficial results to Electoral Board or their representative.
· Announce unofficial results outside polls if media or others waiting.
· Close and seal voting machines.
· Pack and seal all envelopes.
· Remove signs and discard those that are non-reusable.
· Pack election materials in supply containers.
· Leave polling place as clean and organized as possible.
How are the election results made official?
The Canvass
Until the official counting and certification of the ballots is complete, all election results are considered “unofficial”. A process known as the “canvass” must be completed before the results become official. The canvass procedure is described below.
Each Electoral Board must meet to ascertain the results of all elections held in its county or city and certify the results.
When and where the Electoral Board meets:
· No later than 5:00 PM on the day after the election
· At the office of the Clerk of Court. The Board may adjourn to the principal office of the General Registrar. The Clerk so advises interested citizens who inquire where meeting is being conducted.
· All Board Members should be present. Two members constitute a quorum in the event one member is unable to attend due to an emergency.
· Only those members of the Board present during the entire canvass may legally sign any document concerning it.
Who may be present at the Electoral Board canvass:
· The General Registrar and other staff needed to assist the Board may attend, as may representatives of the Clerk of Court’s office, if needed.
· Any qualified voter and any media representative is also permitted to attend. These persons may observe but may not interrupt the meeting.
Documents used and prepared by the Electoral Board:
Statement of Results
· All data entered by Officers of Election is checked for accuracy, including the number voting on machines which should be verified against data entered for each machine’s public and protective counter entries.
· The ascertainment of results is made from the Statement of Results from each precinct.
· If errors are found, a majority of the Officers of Election for the precinct will be summoned. Officers representing both parties must be present. Only the Officers of Election may make changes to the Statement of Results.
· If it appears that Officers must look at counted ballots or examine voting machines, the State Board of Elections must be contacted to obtain permission for the Clerk of Court to release documents or voting equipment keys to the officers. Documents and/or voting machines must be examined in the presence of either the Clerk or Deputy Clerk of Court.
General or Special Election
· Attested copy for each office is provided to the clerk of the local governing body
· Attested copy for each local issue is provided to the clerk of the local governing body and the Clerk of Court.
Certificates of Election
· Certificates of Election, prepared for each person elected to a local office, are executed by the Secretary of the Electoral Board.
· Secretary of the Electoral Board determines that the requirements of the Campaign Finance Disclosure Act have been met by winners of local offices covered by that Act.
· Certificates are given to the winners.
The State Board of Elections is required to meet to certify the results of all elections for members of the General Assembly, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, members of the United States Congress, Presidential Electors, and any other office shared by more than one county or city or combination of the two.
When and where the State Board meets:
· At least two weeks before the date of any meeting, the State Board will forward a notice of the date and location of the meeting to the Registrar of Regulations for posting on the Commonwealth’s calendar.
· A copy of the notice will also be posted at the entrance to its offices:
for a Primary Election
§ No later than 14 days after the date of the primary.
for a General Election
§ On the fourth Monday in November.
for a Special Election
§ As soon as possible following the election. Number of days after the election varies based on the number of localities involved in the election.
Who may be present at the State Board Canvass:
· The Deputy Secretary and other staff needed to assist the Board.
· Any person or media representative is permitted to attend. These persons may observe but may not interrupt the meeting.
Official Election Results
· Immediately following its canvass the State Board of Elections changes to the classification of the election results on its web site from Unofficial to Official and makes available to the public election results summaries and locality/precinct details.
What are Recounts and Contests?
A recount is a re-determination of the results of a close election.
A contest is a challenge to the outcome of the election based on:
· Objections to the winner's eligibility, based on specific allegations; and/or
· Objections to the conduct or results of the election containing specific grounds which, if proven true, would have a probable impact on the outcome of the election.
Under Virginia laws, either activity can only be initiated by the losing candidate or group of voters in the case of an issue, under specific conditions and following set procedures. To learn more about recounts and contests,Click Here to view the Virginia laws that govern these activities.
Are there any illegal acts regarding voting and elections?
There are very strict laws that must be observed by citizens in both registering to vote and voting. The following is a condensed and partial list of illegal acts in regard to voting and elections:
· No person may obtain or submit false, fraudulent or fictitious voter registration applications.
· No person may submit false information as to name, address, citizenship or period of residence in a voting district for the purpose of establishing eligibility to register or vote in any election.
· No person may intentionally register at more than one address at the same time, or vote more than once in the same election.
· No person may carry the official ballot furnished by the officers of election further than the voting booth, and should they decide not to vote after receiving the ballot, they shall immediately return the ballot to the officers.
· No person may obtain, cast or count false, fraudulent or fictitious ballots in any election.
· No person may pay, offer to pay or accept payment for voting, registering to vote, withholding their vote, or voting for or against any candidate.
· No person may intimidate, threaten or coerce any other person: for registering or voting; for urging or aiding persons in registering or voting; for purposes of interfering or influencing how a person chooses to vote or not vote; or for purposes of preventing a person from voting.
· No person may steal or willfully, fraudulently, or wrongfully tamper with any part of any ballot container, voting or registration equipment, records, or documents, which are used in any way within the registration or election process.
· No person may, by bribery, intimidation, or other means in violation of the election laws, willfully hinder or prevent, or attempt to hinder or prevent, the officers of election at any precinct from holding an election.