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Virginia election dates for 2026
Special elections in January: Virginia will hold several special elections for the General Assembly in on January 13 and 20 to fill vacancies for four seats in the House of Delegates.
On January 13, special elections will be held in House District 11 (Fairfax city and part of Fairfax County; David Bulolva is leaving for a Cabinet post) and House District 23 (parts of Prince William and Stafford; Candi Mundon King is leaving for a Cabinet post)
On January 20, another special election will be held in Fairfax County, that one in House District 17 where Mark Sickles has also left for a Cabinet position.
We’ve sent our issues questionnaire to all those candidates; find their answers (if any) on the individual locality pages linked above.
Possible spring referendum on redistricting amendment: The General Assembly is expected to pass a constitutional amendment to temporarily set aside the constitutionally-mandated bipartisan commission on redistricting to allow the legislature to redraw the state’s congressional districts. This is in response to Texas and other states doing the same. If the legislature passes the amendment, it will go to a referendum, sometime in the spring. April is the month most frequently mentioned.
May 1: Early voting opens for any June primaries.
June 16: If Virginia proceeds with the current congressional lines, this is when primaries for House of Representative nominations would be. This will also be the date for any other primaries, such as nominations for U.S. Senate and various local offices that will be on the ballot in November. This would include any nomination contests for city council seats in Lynchburg and Roanoke.
September 18: Early voting begins for the November general election.
October 23: Deadline to register to vote, if you’re not already registered, without having to cast a provisional ballot.
October 31: Early voting ends.
November 3: Virginians will be voting for a U.S. Senator, members of the U.S. House, and various local offices, including some city council seats in Lynchburg and Roanoke.
For more details, see the Virginia Department of Elections.
To see who is on the ballot in your city or county and find candidate comparisons, see “Who’s on your ballot” below.
NOTE: At present, these are only updated for Chesterfield County and Richmond for the special election on January 6. Others will be updated as more information develops.
How elections work:
In conjunction with the nonpartisan group Keep Our Republic, Cardinal has produced this video interview with three registrars about how the election process works: Jacquelynne “Jackie” Harris, Chief Deputy Registrar in Nelson County; Derek Lyall, General Registrar and Director of Elections in Washington County and Blakley Morris, General Registrar and Director of Elections for the city of Bristol. Cardinal’s Dutchie Jessee is the host.
Who’s running?
U.S. Senate: Mark Warner, the Democratic incumbent, is seeking reelection. The Republican field so far includes business consultant Aldous Mina, state Sen. Bryce Reeves, former State Department and CIA official David Williams. The Department of Elections won’t announce who has made the primary ballot until early April.
U.S. House: All 11 Virginia incumbents are seeking reelection. The field of challengers is still forming. The names listed below come from federal fiings and Cardinal News coverage but may not always be up-to-date as candidates enter and exit. We’ll update these lists as more information develops. If you see an omission, please let us know at elections@cardinalnews.org.
House District 1
Democrats: Ata-ul-Salaam Bhatti, Timothy Cywinski, Elizabeth Beggs, Lisa Vedernikova Khanna, Jason Knapp, Ericka Kopp, Andrew Luchetti, James Shea, Shannon Taylor, Melvin Tull
Republican: Rob Wittman (incumbent)
House District 2
Democrats: Nila Devanth, Elaine Luria, Patrick Mosolf, James Osyff, Nicolaus Sleister, Matt Strickler, John Stringfellow, Michael Williamson
Republican: Jen Kiggans (incumbent) and William Matthews Jr.
House District 3
Democrat: Bobby Scott (incumbent)
Republican: None
House District 4
Democrat: Jennifer McClellan (incumbent)
Republican: None.
House District 5
Democrat: Suzanne Krzyzanowski, Tom Perriello, Mike Pruitt, Robert Tracinski
Republican: John McGuire (incumbent)
House District 6
Democrat: Pete Barlow, Beth Macy, Ken Mitchell
Republican: Ben Cline (incumbent)
House District 7
Democrat: Eugene Vindman (incumbent), Matthew Rainforth
Republican: Tara Durant, John Gray, Darius Mayfield, Douglas Ollivant, Jacob Roginsky, Alex Thymmons
House District 8
Democrat: Don Beyer (incumbent), Michael Duffin, Frank Fereira, Daniel Gray, Mo Seifeldein
Republican: Tony Sabio, Heerak Kim Luke Phillips
House District 9
Democrat: Adam Murphy, Joy Powers
Republican: Morgan Griffith (incumbent)
House District 10
Democrat: Suhas Subramanyam (incumbent)
Republican: None.
House District 11
Democrat: James Walkinshaw (incumbent)
Republican: None.
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Who’s on your ballot?
June primary: We won’t know until April who has qualified for any primary elections.
November general election: Besides the races for U.S. Senate and U.S. House, some local offices will be on the ballot in some localities in November.
We’ve created election pages (below, under “Elections by Locality”) that list who’s on the ballot in each county and city. Once the ballot is set, we’ll be sending questionnaires to the candidtes and displaying their answers on those pages.
NOTE: At present, these are only updated for Chesterfield County and Richmond for the special election on January 6. Others will be updated as more information develops.
If you spot any errors or omissions, please let us know at elections@cardinalnews.org.
Elections by locality
- Accomack County
- Albemarle County
- Alleghany County
- Alexandria
- Amelia County
- Amherst County
- Appomattox County
- Arlington County
- Augusta County
- Bath County
- Bedford County
- Bland County
- Botetourt County
- Bristol
- Brunswick County
- Buchanan County
- Buckingham County
- Buena Vista
- Campbell County
- Caroline County
- Carroll County
- Charles City County
- Charlotte County
- Charlottesville
- Chesapeake
- Chesterfield County
- Clarke County
- Colonial Heights
- Covington
- Craig County
- Culpeper County
- Cumberland County
- Danville
- Dickenson County
- Dinwiddie County
- Emporia
- Essex County
- Fairfax County
- Fairfax (city)
- Falls Church
- Fauquier County
- Floyd County
- Fluvanna County
- Franklin (city)
- Franklin County
- Frederick County
- Fredericksburg
- Galax
- Giles County,
- Gloucester County
- Goochland County
- Grayson County
- Greene County
- Greensville County
- Halifax County
- Hampton
- Hanover County
- Harrisonburg
- Henrico County
- Henry County
- Highland County
- Hopewell
- Isle of Wight County
- James City County
- King and Queen County
- King George County
- King William County
- Lancaster County
- Lee County
- Lexington
- Loudoun County
- Lunenburg County
- Lynchburg
- Madison County
- Manassas
- Manassas Park
- Martinsville
- Mathews County
- Mecklenburg County
- Middlesex County
- Montgomery County
- Nelson County
- New Kent County
- Newport News
- Norfolk
- Northampton County
- Norton
- Northumberland County
- Nottoway County
- Orange County
- Page County
- Patrick County
- Petersburg
- Pittsylvania County
- Poquoson
- Portsmouth
- Powhatan County
- Prince Edward County
- Prince George County
- Prince William County
- Pulaski County
- Radford
- Rappahannock County
- Richmond
- Richmond County
- Roanoke
- Roanoke County
- Rockbridge County
- Rockingham County
- Russell County
- Salem
- Scott County
- Shenandoah County
- Smyth County
- Southampton County
- Spotsylvania County
- Stafford County
- Staunton
- Suffolk
- Surry County
- Sussex County
- Tazewell County
- Virginia Beach
- Washington County
- Waynesboro
- Westmoreland County
- Williamsburg
- Winchester
- Wise County
- Wythe County
- York County
Where the statewide candidates stand
Once the ballot is set, we’ll send questionnaires to all the candidates. We’ll be posting the U.S. Senate candidates here and other candidates on the pages of the localities where they’re running. To find comparisons for the candidates on the ballot in your city or county, find your locality under ‘Elections by locality’ above.
More comparisons
We’ll be posting links to Cardinal News coverage here.
U.S. Senate:
He’s running: Warner makes it official in reelection campaign announcement, by Elizabeth Beyer.
Reeves announces plan to challenge Warner for Senate seat in 2026, by Elizabeth Beyer.
U.S. House:
Perriello consolidates support in 5th, Macy picks up Kaine endorsement in 6th, but will they wind up in the same district?, by Dwayne Yancey
Former Rep. Tom Perriello jumps into the 5th District race amid redistricting upheaval, by Elizabeth Beyer
Rasoul to explore run for Congress as Virginia eyes redrawing district lines, staff report
Beth Macy makes her run for Congress official, by Elizabeth Beyer
A Democratic primary is expected in the 9th District, by Elizabeth Beyer
Your support matters
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Where is my polling place?
How to vote
Can I vote with an out-of-state or expired license?
Yes. If you get to your polling place without an acceptable ID, you can sign a statement affirming your identity and vote on a regular ballot, according to the Virginia Department of Elections. If your license is expired, you can still use it to vote.
How can I vote by mail in Virginia?
For June primaries: You can request a mail-in ballot for the primary election until June 14.
For fall elections: You can request a mail-in ballot for the primary election until October 24.
Request the mail-in ballot on Virginia’s election portal, or by mailing an application for an absentee ballot to your local voter registration office. You can find the address for your voter registration office on the Virginia Department of Elections website.
You can also request an absentee ballot up to 11 days until the deadline. After the deadline, only emergency absentee ballots are available until the day before the election. To qualify for an emergency absentee ballot, you need to have a serious conflict (like a work conflict, or a health issue of an immediate family member).
Can I vote early in-person?
Yes. You can vote early in-person at your local registrar’s office. You can find the location of the general registrar’s office in your jurisdiction and read more about early voting on the Virginia Department of Elections’ website.
When do polls open?
Polls will be open between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Election Day.
If you are in line by 7 p.m., you will be allowed to vote.
Can I vote from jail in Virginia?
In many cases, yes. If you do not have a felony conviction, or if the governor has restored your right to vote after a felony conviction, you can vote – even from jail. This includes if you are being detained awaiting your court date, or are in jail for a misdemeanor conviction.
If you have a felony conviction, you can petition the governor to restore your voting rights.
Not sure if you’re eligible to vote?
Check your registration status at virginia.gov.
You can also check out Virginia’s list of voter rights, and read ProPublica’s guide on voting accessibility for more information.