Early Voting Underway in Virginia With Senate Race, 11 House Seats on Ballot

As of Friday, early voting is underway in Virginia, and voters can cast ballots in person through Halloween ahead of the Nov. 3 midterms.

Among other key races in the commonwealth, Democrat Sen. Mark Warner is seeking a fourth term against Republican Bert Mizusawa, a retired U.S. Army major general. In addition, all 11 congressional districts are on the ballot.

Currently, Virginia sends six Democrats and five Republicans to the U.S. House of Representatives. The district borders of those 11 seats remain unchanged from two years ago after the state’s Supreme Court set aside a redistricting amendment passed by voters in April.

Almost 700 people had voted in person by noon Friday at Henrico County’s two government centers.

Outside, a Republican volunteer told the Daily Signal that the turnout was lighter on the first day than in the governor’s election last year.

“We generally have not seen a line at all, except at the stroke of 8 a.m.,” said Deb, who provided only her first name. She touted Mizusawa’s chances: “If people would just sit and learn about who he is and what he has accomplished, there’s no question. He’s incredible.”

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One voter named Ann, who also preferred to offer her first name, said she was in line when the polls opened and was the seventh person in the facility to cast a ballot. “I think the Democrats are more enthused, and the Republicans are kind of a little bit sheepish,” she said.

Deb, while working at the GOP tent, said she wasn’t surprised that Democrats seemed to have an early edge. “Democrats generally show up early; Republicans show up on Election Day more so,” she said.

Voters can expect to vote on three constitutional amendments appearing on the statewide ballot, and volunteers from various political parties stand ready at precincts to answer questions and offer help.

“I’m here to explain to people the actual language of the proposed constitutional amendments—not the shorthand version, but the actual wording, so they can realize what the implications are,” Deb said.

The day before voting began, President Donald Trump called in to a telephone rally for Virginia’s three congressional Republicans: Rep. John McGuire of the 5th District, Rep. Jen Kiggans of the 2nd District, and Rep. Rob Wittman of the 1st District.

“They are incredible. They’re warriors,” Trump said on the Sept. 17 call. “I work with them all the time, and we’ve won so much and gotten so many things that nobody else could have gotten. And we’ve had tremendous success with the great ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ and all of the things that it represents, and tremendous tax cuts, no tax on overtime.”

The president vowed last week that he would campaign in 35 battleground districts, but it isn’t clear whether he will visit any of these three districts led by Republicans.

“They will never, ever let you down. They’ll, they’re just spectacular warriors. They really are,” Trump said during the tele-rally. “And you have to, again, pretend that I’m on the ballot, because this way everyone’s going to go out and vote.”

Trump added, “But I am on the ballot, really, if you think about it, because they’re going to destroy everything that we did. So, vote on November 3rd or vote early.”

Voter registration is available through Oct. 23.