Early voting picks up as Virginia holds first Sunday voting

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. — Early voting is picking up steam across Virginia, with hundreds of thousands more ballots already cast than at the same point in the last midterm election.

In Chesterfield County, voters faced about a 20-minute wait to cast their ballots Sunday as Virginians took advantage of a new opportunity to vote early.

"It's great. I'm always glad to see people vote," one voter said. "I may not agree with what they vote, but I'm glad to see them vote."

For the first time, Virginia is offering Sunday early voting following legislation passed by the General Assembly this year. The law requires early voting to be available for at least five hours between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. on the second and third Sundays immediately before an election.

The first Sunday voting date is Oct. 18, followed by another on Oct. 25. Early in-person voting ends Oct. 31, ahead of Election Day on Nov. 3.

With a little more than two weeks until Election Day, more than 678,000 Virginians have already cast their ballots, according to the Virginia Public Access Project. That's nearly 300,000 more ballots than at the same point in the 2022 midterm election.

And there is more than control of Congress on the ballot.

Every Virginia voter will be asked to weigh in on three proposed amendments to the state constitution.

The first proposed amendment deals with reproductive rights. If approved, it would add protections for decisions involving abortion and other reproductive healthcare to the Virginia Constitution. The proposal also addresses when restrictions on abortion would be permitted during the third trimester.

The second proposed amendment deals with marriage. If approved, it would remove Virginia's constitutional language banning same-sex marriage and affirm that two adults may marry regardless of sex, gender or race. It would also require legally valid marriages to be treated equally under the law.

The third proposed amendment deals with voting rights. If approved, someone convicted of a felony would not be eligible to vote while incarcerated but would automatically regain the right to vote upon release, rather than having to petition the governor for restoration.

One Chesterfield voter said the complexity of the questions makes it particularly important for people to understand what they're deciding.

"I think it's important. The constitutional amendments seem complicated because they are always long, the language is hard to read sometimes," the voter said. "But it's important to know that these are very important issues that Virginians should care a lot about."

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Voters in dozens of communities are also being asked to make a decision closer to home.

A total of 47 Virginia localities are putting a proposed 1% sales and use tax before voters this year to raise money for school construction or major renovation.

In Central Virginia, the question is appearing on ballots in Richmond, Chesterfield, Emporia, Essex, King & Queen, Middlesex, New Kent, Powhatan and Prince Edward.

The additional tax would not apply to groceries, medicine or personal hygiene products.

In Chesterfield County, officials expect the tax, if approved, to generate about $70 million a year for 20 years. That money would help pay for identified school projects, including replacing Midlothian Middle School.

"These are already identified projects," Matt Harris, Chesterfield County deputy county administrator, said. "That timetable and those projects are already laid out."

Without approval, Harris said some of the projects would remain on their existing schedules, which could mean waiting the better part of a decade before some facilities are fully designed and open.

For those already casting their ballots, the message was simple.

"A lot of time people are like, 'Oh, it's one vote, it don't count.' Yes, it does," one voter said. "It's very important. People back in the day, ancestors and things, they struggled and fought for us to vote. So, going forth, you need to get out and vote and have your vote counted."

Early voting continues through Saturday, Oct. 31. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3, with polls open from 6 a.m. until 7 p.m.

See the CBS 6 Virginia Voter's Guide for more information about what's on your ballot, important election deadlines and where to vote.