Registration & Voting Information for College Students
Where should I register to vote?
Register to vote in the city or county in which you are a legal resident.
What is my legal residence?
You are the one to determine and declare the city, county and state in which you claim your legal residence. This may be the residence where your family lives, or the city or county and state where your school is located. Consider the following questions to determine which to declare:
Are you claimed as a dependent
on your parents’ income tax
return? If you are, then their address is probably your legal
residence.
Do you have a scholarship that
would be affected if you
changed your legal residence? Some scholarships require that the
student
be a resident of a particular town, city or state. Contact the
provider of
your scholarship to determine if a change in your legal residence will
affect
your scholarship.
Would your health, automobile or
other insurance coverage
be affected by a change in your legal residence? If you are covered
under
your parents’ insurance policy, your protection could be affected by a
change in
your legal residence.
Are you close to graduation and
intend to live and work in
the same community as your college after you graduate? If you do, then
you
may want to use your college address as your legal residence if you
will not be
affected by the issues listed above.
Also consider that many students
move frequently while in
college and after graduation. You must update your address with the
registrar each time you move to keep your voter registration valid,
regardless
of the address you use as your legal residence.
How do I register to vote?
If you declare your legal residence in Virginia, you may obtain a Voter Registration Application online or request an application from your local Voter Registrar or obtain an application at any Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. Several other agencies in Virginia can supply voter registration applications, such as transportation providers for the disabled and social services agencies.
Fill out the application
completely.
Do not leave any questions
blank.
Be sure to sign the
application.
Return your completed and signed application to the DMV, transportation provider or other agency where you obtained the application, or mail it to your Voter Registrar in the city or county of your legal Virginia residence. You will receive your Voter Registration Card by return mail to the address you listed on the application.
If you declare your legal residence in another state, do not register to vote in Virginia! Contact the voter registrar in the county or city of your home state for information on how to register and vote, or check the home page of your state government’s web site.
Most states also accept the National Mail Voter Registration Form available online at www.fec.gov/votregis/vr.htm. Print, complete and mail this form to your home state.
How do I vote in Virginia if I go to college away from home?
If you have declared Virginia as your legal residence, are registered to vote in Virginia and attend school away from the city or county of your legal residence, you are entitled to vote by absentee ballot if you cannot return home to vote. Click here to read about and request an Absentee Ballot Application.
Note: You must vote either in person at the precinct shown on your voter registration card, or by absentee ballot. Online voting is not available in Virginia.
How do I vote in Virginia if I go to college and live at home?
Vote at the polling place printed on your Voter Registration Card.