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Editorial
Hundreds of Rockbridge area residents have already cast ballots in the presidential election, six weeks ahead of Election Day on Nov. 5.
While many folks have previously been resistant to the idea of early voting, the actual practice seems to be gaining more adherents. All three local voting registrars reported brisk business this past Friday, Sept. 20 – the first day of early voting. The trend is continuing into this week.
In Rockbridge County, 265 people cast ballots Friday. Another 191 voted on Monday. In Lexington, 107 voted on Friday and another 42 had cast ballots by Monday afternoon. The numbers in Buena Vista were 59 on Friday and another 32 by Monday afternoon.
The process of early voting is simple. Voters go to the registrar’s office where they are registered to vote, present an I.D. and cast a ballot. For those not registered to vote, the deadline to do so is Oct. 15. The registrars’ offices are open during normal business hours on weekdays and the last two Saturdays prior to Election Day on Nov. 5. The last day for early inperson voting is Saturday, Nov. 2.
Anyone wishing to cast a ballot by mail must request an absentee ballot by Oct. 25. Absentee ballots returned by mail must be postmarked by Tuesday, Nov. 5, and received by Friday, Nov. 8, at noon. Absentee ballots can also be dropped off at the registrar’s office or polling location on Election Day. Registered voters do not need a reason to request an absentee ballot or to vote early in person.
While the presidential election is getting most of the attention, there is much more than that on the ballot this year. Votes are being cast locally for Virginia’s Sixth District member of the U.S. House of Representatives, a U.S. senator, three members of Lexington City Council and the city’s mayor, three members of the Lexington School Board, three members of Glasgow Town Council, two members of Goshen Town Council and one member of Buena Vista City Council.
With this week’s edition, we are in our second week of profiling local candidates for the Nov. 5 elections. Unfortunately, many of these profiles are being published after some folks have already voted. Nevertheless, we will be presenting these profiles over the next few weeks. We believe this to be a good public service to introduce our readers to the persons who will potentially be representing them in elective office.
We are on board with early voting being a positive development in the evolution of our representative democracy. The practice increases voter participation. No matter one’s party or political persuasion, we encourage everyone to get out and vote between now and Nov. 5.
Anyone with questions about this year’s elections can call their local registrar’s office, visit the Virginia Department of Elections website at https://www.elections. virginia.gov, call 1-800552-9745 or email [email protected].
We wish to acknowledge the dedication and selflessness of our elections officials. Their job has not been easy, especially in recent years, with all of the criticism that has been directed their way by those who have questioned the integrity of our elections. We believe that local elections officials here and across the country are doing their best to ensure that our elections are secure and free of fraud.
Our elections are the bedrock of our representative democracy and we thank those individuals who are continuing to ensure that this is so.
