The Department of Elections is encouraging everyone to vote absentee in local elections around Virginia, which are still scheduled to take place on Tuesday, May 5th.
Voters in Virginia need a reason to vote absentee, which changes this year for the November election, but the old rule is still in place for now. In response to the coronavirus outbreak the Department of Elections has extended one of the reasons for eligibility.
From the Department of Elections website–
The Virginia Department of Elections encourages voters to protect their health during COVID-19 outbreak. Voting absentee in the coming local May elections is strongly encouraged. Voters may choose reason “2A My disability or illness” for Absentee voting in the May 2020 elections due to COVID-19. Voters who choose the absentee option should do so as soon as possible so they can get their ballots in time to return them by mail by Election Day.
We support this, but let’s be honest here. The Department of Elections is not extending absentee eligibility to anyone who has COVID-19, they would already be eligible, The Department of Elections is really extending the interpretation of “illness” to include concern of a pandemic.
Serious problems require serious solutions. The Department of Elections is acting outside their capacity here, but it’s ok. They are really telling people to just fudge the paperwork and they’ll cover for us. Seeing that government has our backs every once and a while is nice. We suggest voters take advantage of the opportunity and mail in their ballot instead of showing up at the polls on Election Day.
There are 58 counties and cites having local elections on May 5th, ranging (in population and location) from Loudoun County to Wise County.
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