🗳️ Virginia Voter's Guide: Everything you need to know about the 2026 Election

RICHMOND, Va. — Early voting is underway in Virginia for the 2026 midterms and those heading to the polls will have more than just the Congressional races to consider this year. Every Virginian will also be asked about three proposed constitutional amendments and many jurisdictions have local races or are asking their residents whether to approve a new one-percent sales tax to fund new school construction and renovations.

Below you will find the information about the key dates and who/what is on the ballot. You can also find the Department of Election's Virginia Voter Pocket Guide here.

Key Dates

• Sept. 18: Early voting begins. Find where you can vote early here.
• Oct. 18: Sunday voting begins. Legislation was approved this year that requires voting "be made available for a minimum of five hours between the hours of 11:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on the second and third Sunday immediately preceding all elections"
• Oct. 23: This is the deadline to request a mail-in ballot (by 5:00 p.m.) and the last day to register to vote or update your voter information. After this day, voters can still register in-person at their polling place and cast a provisional ballot.
• Oct. 24: Saturday voting begins.
• Oct. 31: The last day to vote early in-person.
• Nov. 3: Election Day. Polls are open between 6:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. As long as you are in line when the polls close, you will be allowed to vote. Mail-in ballots can be accepted up until 5:00 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6 (legislation was approved this year that extended the deadline from noon), but must have been postmarked by Election Day to be counted.

Statewide Races: U.S. Senate and Constitutional Amendments

One of Virginia's two U.S. Senate seats is among the 35 across the country that are on the ballot. Three-term incumbent Democratic Sen. Mark Warner faces a challenge from Republican retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Bert Mizusawa.

Virginians will also be asked three questions on whether to amend the state constitution. This is the final step in a years-long process that began in 2024:

• Proposed Constitutional Amendment Question 1. If approved, the change would enshrine access to abortion and other reproductive healthcare in the state constitution. Read some of CBS 6's coverage here and here. The ballot question language is as follows:
  
  • "Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended to (i) protect the freedom to make personal decisions about prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, birth control, abortion, miscarriage management, and fertility care; (ii) protect doctors, nurses, and patients from being punished for these decisions; and (iii) allow for restrictions on access to abortion during the third trimester of pregnancy except when the patient's health is at risk or the pregnancy cannot survive?"

• Proposed Constitutional Amendment Question 2: If approved, language banning same-sex marriage in the state constitution would be removed and language enshrining protections for same-sex couples would be added. Read some of CBS 6's coverage here.
  
  • "Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended to (i) remove the ban on same-sex marriage; (ii) affirm that two adults may marry regardless of sex, gender, or race; and (iii) require all legally valid marriages to be treated equally under the law?"

• Proposed Constitutional Amendment Question 3: If approved, language would be removed from the state constitution that requires formerly incarcerated felons to petition the governor to have their voting rights restored. Virginia is among only a handful of states that automatically revokes a person's right to vote if convicted of a felony. However, a recent federal ruling narrowed the scope of which type of felony this applies to. The ballot question language is as follows:
  
  • "Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended (i) to provide for the fundamental right to vote in the Commonwealth, (ii) to revise the qualifications of voters so that a person convicted of a felony is not entitled to vote during his period of incarceration but is automatically invested with the right to vote upon release from incarceration, and (iii) to update the existing prohibition on voting by persons found to be mentally incompetent to instead apply to persons who have been found to lack the capacity to understand the act of voting?"

U.S. House of Representatives

Virginia has 11 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and, like the rest of the country, all will be up for grabs. Several seats in the Commonwealth are among those CBS News says are among the battleground races that will determine control of that chamber.

The races will use the Congressional district maps approved in 2021, after the Supreme Court of Virginia ruled an effort earlier this year to change the maps was unconstitutional.

• Virginia's 1st District: Ten-term Republican Rep. Rob Wittman faces a challenge from Democratic Henrico County Commonwealth's Attorney Shannon Taylor. Chesterfield, Henrico, Hanover, and James City Counties make up the majority of the district. The Virginia Public Access Project (VPAP) has a breakdown of the district's geography, demographics, and voting history here.

• Virginia's 2nd District: Two-term Republican Rep. Jen Kiggans faces a rematch with the woman she unseated, former Democratic Rep. Elaine Luria. Two independents are also on the ballot: Geral D. “Bishop” Staten and Matt Baker. See VPAP's district profile here.

• Virginia's 4th District: Two-term Democratic Rep. Jennifer McClellan faces a challenge from Republican Robert Murray. Independent candidate Joan Andrews Bell is also on the ballot. The City of Richmond plus Chesterfield and Henrico Counties make up the majority of the district. See VPAP's district profile here.

• Virginia's 5th District: First-term Republican Rep. John McGuire faces a challenge from former Democratic Rep. Tom Perriello. Independent candidate Cooke Harvey is also on the ballot. See VPAP's district profile here.

One-Percent School Construction Tax

Thanks to language included in the current state budget, all Virginia localities have the ability to ask their residents whether to approve a one-percent sales and use tax that will fund new construction or major renovation projects at schools (some Northern Virginia localities can also use it for transportation projects). The tax would not apply to things like groceries, medicine, and personal hygiene products and would have to expire in 20 years.

A total of 47 localities are putting the question to voters this year, including the following in Central Virginia:

• City of Richmond
• Chesterfield County
• City of Emporia
• Essex County
• King & Queen County
• Middlesex County
• New Kent County
• Powhatan County
• Prince Edward County

Local Races

According to the Virginia Department of Elections, over 1,300 people are running for local offices across the Commonwealth -- including regular and special elections. To see who will be on your ballot, you can enter your address on the Virginia Department of Election's Polling Place Lookup page. Below are some of the races:

City of Richmond

The City of Richmond has a special election for 6th District Representative on the Richmond School Board to serve the remainder of Shonda Harris-Muhammed, who resigned in 2025 to serve as an acting superintendent elsewhere in Virginia. Her interim replacement, Anne Holton, is running against Jackie McDonnough. Both are running as independents.

Chesterfield County

There are two special elections in Chesterfield County.

Democratic candidate LeQuan Hylton is running unopposed to represent the Dale District on the Board of Supervisors to fill the remainder of the term of the late Jim Holland, who died after a cancer battle in 2025. Hylton was appointed as Holland's interim replacement and defeated Kathryn Crosby in the primary.

There is also a special election for the Clover Hill District seat on the Chesterfield School Board.to serve the remainder Dot Heffron's term after she resigned for a social media post she made following Charlie Kirk's assassination. Independents Christina Brady and Elizabeth Schultz are the candidates. Heffron's interim replacement, Dr. Jenna Darby, is not running.

Hanover County

Hanover County is holding a special election for sheriff to replace Col. David Hines, who retired in March. Republican Col. Gregory Six was sworn-in as his interim replacement and is facing a challenge from independent Rickey Dandridge.

City of Petersburg

In the city of Petersburg, there are contested races to elect representatives in Wards 3, 5, and 7 (incumbent Ward 1 Council Member Marlow Jones is running unopposed on the ballot, but the Progress-Index reports there are write-in candidates running in Ward 1 and 7).

In Ward 5, incumbent (and former mayor) Council Member Howard Myers faces a challenge from former Richmond prosecutor and state lawmaker Joe Morrissey.

Current Mayor and Ward 3 Council Member Sam Parham faces a challenge from Michael Moore-Storrs.

Residents in Wards 1, 3, 5, and 7 will also be voting on their school board representative as well.

Colonial Heights

In Colonial Heights, three of the seven seats on city council are for election (council members are elected at-large, not by districts or wards). Incumbents John Piotrowski, Betsy Luck, and John Wood are running, along with Jennifer Frazier and Randolph Thomas, Jr.

For the city's school board, there are two at-large seats up for grabs (with incumbents Steven Neece and Lisa Kochuba running, along with Lance LaLonde) and one special election to serve the remainder of the term of Dr. Joseph Cox., Jr., who resigned in May (Keith Kapinskis is the only candidate on the ballot).

City of Hopewell

In Hopewell, voters in Wards 1, 2, 3, 6, and 7 will each have to choose between to candidates to represent them on city council.

CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.