FAIRFAX, Va. -- With two and a half weeks until Election Day, campaigns and election officials alike are busy getting ready. Turnout is already strong in battleground Virginia’s largest county.
Fairfax County election officials say 26,000 ballots have already been cast via in-person absentee voting and or by mailing in. Officials are seeing high turnout. They have already had twice as many absentee ballots cast this year as compared to last year at this time for the gubernatorial election.
Officials expect to continue to see high voter turnout for those who want to vote in-person absentee until the November 3 deadline. A Fairfax County spokeswoman says the Office of Elections will accept mail-in ballots until 7 p.m. on Election Day, which is Tuesday, November 6.
Matthew Poland was one of many who visited the Fairfax County Government Center Saturday to vote absentee. Poland will be on vacation with his family on Election Day, which is one of the 20 valid reason to vote absentee in Virginia.
You can view the full list on Fairfax County’s information page on absentee voting.
Poland said Saturday, he appreciated how easy it was for him to vote absentee in-person.
“I think any time we can get higher turnout is a great thing,” he said.
Fairfax County was also training dozens of election officials Saturday. The county will have more than 2,600 election officers at its 243 precincts. If you’re voting in the county, you also might see many student volunteers through the state’s election high school page program.
“If I can’t vote, I might as well put myself in a position where I can ensure other people will do so,” said Nicolas Francis, who is 17-years-old.
