Voter Guide

Some of the features in this Voter Guide were made possible through the Knight Election Center and a grant from Microsoft. For questions about this Voter Guide, contact us at news@cardinalnews.org.

Virginia election dates for 2026

Referendum on redistricting amendment:

March 6: Early voting begins for April 21 referendum

April 21: Election Day for referendum on redistricting amendment. For details on that amendment, see below.

Primaries for party nominations

June 18: Early voting begins for August 4 primaries.

August 4: Primaries for any party nominees who would be on the November ballot, such as candidates for U.S. House, Senate, certain local offices.

General election

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.

About the April 21 referendum on redistricting

What’s on the ballot: Voters will be asked to vote “yes” or “no” on a proposed amendment to the state constution that would allow the General Assembly to adopt new congressional district lines for the fall election. A “yes” vote would allow redistricting, a “no” vote would defeat it.

The background on redistricting: In 2020, voters approved an amendment to the state constitution that took the power of drawing new lines away from the General Assembly and gave it to a bipartisan commission. That amendment contained a provision that if the bipartisan commission couldn’t agree, the task of drawing new lines would go to the Virginia Supreme Court. That’s exactly what happened. The court appointed two “special masters,” one from each party, who then drew lines without regard to where incumbents lived.

That’s the congressional map we now have:

Virginia's current congressional districts,approved in late 2021. Courtesy of Twotwofourtysix.
Virginia’s current congressional districts, approved in late 2021. Courtesy of Twotwofourtysix.

With that map, Virginia’s current congressional delegation consists of 6 Democrats, 5 Republicans.

After Republicans in Texas redrew their lines to produce more Republican seats, other states started to respond in kind; some Republican, some Democratic. Democrats in the Virginia General Assembly say the state needs a new map, with more Democratic seats, to counter-balance what other states have done. Because Virginia’s current redistricting process is in the state constitution, a new amendment is necessary to change the rules.

What this proposed constitutional amendment would do: It would temporarily set aside the bipartisan commission if other states redraw their lines, which some have. That means the General Assembly could adopt a new map, which would be effective until the next census, in 2030, when the bipartisan commission would come back into force to draw new lines after the 2030 census results are released. Those lines would take effect for the 2032 congressional elections.

This is the proposed map:

This is the amended map. Courtesy of Legislative Information Services.
This is the proposed map. Courtesy of Legislative Information Services.

This map is designed to elect more Democrats, perhaps up to 10 out of the state’s 11 seats. Technically, voters are not voting on the map. The General Assembly has already passed this map, pending the referendum. Voters will be asked to adopt a new constitutional amendment, which would enable this map to take effect.

We know it’s a lot to keep up with. Check out our timeline for how we got here:

What district do you live in? If you can’t tell from the maps above, the Virginia Public Access Project has an address look-up tool here. We also created a version of the map where you can zoom in to all the nooks and crannies of the district lines.

The language on the ballot: “Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended to allow the General Assembly to temporarily adopt new congressional districts to restore fairness in the upcoming elections, while ensuring Virginia’s standard redistricting process resumes for all future redistricting after the 2030 census?”

Status of legal cases: Multiple suits have been filed to challenge the legality of the referendum, citing alleged procedural errors in the way the General Assembly approved it. There also are suits filed that challenge the ballot language as unfair. The Virginia Supreme Court, citing a 1912 case on procedure, has ruled that the election should go forward and said that it will address the legal challenges after the vote. That means it’s possible the court could void the vote afterwards on the grounds that the amendment was improperly put before voters. For background on that 1912 case the court cited, see here.

What else is on the ballot: Nothing. Just this.

Here are the competing arguments:

For the “yes” side:

Virginia won’t stand by while Republicans rig the map, by state Sen. Lamont Bagby, D-Richmond

Fair representation is a moral and constitutional obligation, by NAACP state president Cozy Bailey Sr.

For the “no” side:

Virginia’s redistricting power grab, by Del. Wren Williams, R-Patrick County

A ‘yes’ vote on April 21st is a slap in the face of rural Virginia, by former Attorney General Jason Miyares and former U.S. Rep. Eric Cantor

Cardinal News analysis:

Proposed districts would be more economically diverse than the current ones. Is that good or bad?, by Dwayne Yancey

Why Virginia’s lobster is blue: A closer look at the political dynamics in the proposed congressional districts, by Dwayne Yancey

Current congressional map follows mountains. The proposed one doesn’t. Should that matter?, by Dwayne Yancey

Got questions about redistricting?

Let us know and we’ll try to answer them if we can.

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.

How do I vote?

Who’s running?

U.S. Senate: Mark Warner, the Democratic incumbent, is seeking reelection. The Republican field so far includes Kim Farrington, Aldous Mina, Chester Smith and David Williams.

U.S. House: All 11 Virginia incumbents are seeking reelection. However, we won’t know until April 21 what the districts look like. The maps below are for the districts as they currently exist. If new maps are adopted, the districts will look different and the list of candidates will change. Some candidates have announced in anticipation of new districts; those aren’t listed yet but will be if the maps change. Among them: J.P. Cooney and Dan Helmer for the new version of the 7th District.

The names listed below come from federal filings 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

The 1st Congressional District.
The 1st Congressional District. Courtesy of Virginia Supreme Court.

Democrats: Ata-ul-Salaam Bhatti, Timothy Cywinski, Elizabeth Beggs, Jason Knapp, Ericka Kopp, Andrew Luchetti, James Shea, Shannon Taylor, Melvin Tull

Republican: Rob Wittman (incumbent)

House District 2

The 2nd Congressional District. Courtesy of Virginia Supreme Court.
The 2nd Congressional District. Courtesy of Virginia Supreme Court.

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

The 3rd Congressional District. Courtesy of Virginia Supreme Court.
The 3rd Congressional District. Courtesy of Virginia Supreme Court.

Democrat: Bobby Scott (incumbent)

Republican: None

House District 4

The 4th Congressional District. Courtesy of Virginia Supreme Court.
The 4th Congressional District. Courtesy of Virginia Supreme Court.

Democrat: Jennifer McClellan (incumbent)

Republican: None.

House District 5

5th Congressional District. Courtesy of Virginia Supreme Court.
5th Congressional District. Courtesy of Virginia Supreme Court.

Democrat: Tom Perriello, Robert Tracinski

Republican: John McGuire (incumbent)

House District 6

The 6th congressional district. Courtesy of Virginia Supreme Court.

Democrat: Pete Barlow, Beth Macy, Ken Mitchell

Republican: Ben Cline (incumbent)

House District 7

The 7th Congressional District. Courtesy of Virginia Supreme Court.
The 7th Congressional District. Courtesy of Virginia Supreme Court.

Democrat: Eugene Vindman (incumbent), Matthew Rainforth

Republican: Tara Durant, John Gray, Darius Mayfield, Douglas Ollivant, Jacob Roginsky, Alex Thymmons

House District 8

The 8th Congressional District. Courtesy of Virginia Supreme Court.
The 8th Congressional District. Courtesy of Virginia Supreme Court.

Democrat: Don Beyer (incumbent), Michael Duffin, Frank Fereira, Daniel Gray, Mo Seifeldein

Republican: Tony Sabio, Heerak Kim, Luke Phillips

House District 9

The 9th Congressional District. Courtesy of Virginia Supreme Court.
The 9th Congressional District. Courtesy of Virginia Supreme Court.

Democrat: Douglas Crockett, Adam Murphy, Joy Powers

Republican: Morgan Griffith (incumbent)

House District 10

The10th Congressional District. Courtesy of Virginia Supreme Court.
The10th Congressional District. Courtesy of Virginia Supreme Court.

Democrat: Suhas Subramanyam (incumbent)

Republican: None.

House District 11

The11th Congressional District. Courtesy of Virginia Supreme Court.
The11th Congressional District. Courtesy of Virginia Supreme Court.

Democrat: James Walkinshaw (incumbent)

Republican: None.

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Who’s on your ballot?

We’ve created election pages (below, under “Elections by Locality”) that list who’s on the ballot in each county and city. However, these won’t be updated until the Department of Election sets the ballot for the August primary. Once the ballot is set, we’ll be sending questionnaires to the candidates and displaying their answers on those pages.

If you spot any errors or omissions, please let us know at elections@cardinalnews.org.

Elections by locality

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?

Find 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.