HENRICO COUNTY, Va. -- At one point Friday morning, the line to vote in western Henrico County stretched down the breezeway, curved past the circuit and district courts, and ended at the sheriff’s office.
Voters stood in the line for an hour, but said the line moved quickly.
"We’re extremely busy today," Teri Smithson, Hanover Director of Elections, said of the early voting situation in nearby Hanover County.
The 2020 Election is the first in Virginia that allowed early, excuse-free voting.
Statewide, more than 2.4-million people have voted in-person or by mail as of Friday afternoon.
More than 250,000 voter-requested absentee ballots remain to be returned.
Smithson suggested if you’re among the voters who have not yet mailed in your absentee ballot, that you do one of two things to make sure it’s received in time:
- Hand deliver your absentee to a drop-box location
- Go to your own precinct on Election Day to surrender the absentee ballot and vote in person like everyone else
When Election Day ends, those day-of ballots will be counted and reported as normal.
The early, absentee ballots will be counted at a central location and the results reported at about 11 p.m.
"You won’t get a final tally until after all of the late ballots have been counted," Smithson said. "That’s going to take place after Noon on Friday, November 6."
Saturday, October 31 is the last day for early voting in Virginia.
