Three Ways To Vote in Northumberland County

With concerns about COVID-19, a potential shortage of poll workers, recent cutbacksat the USPS and disinformation campaigns flooding social media, providing accurate voter information to our friends and neighbors has never been more important. Please share this information! Call your neighbors, post to social media and/or write a letter to the editor in our local papers (see end of article for sample letter written by NAPS members).

Registration

Voters must be registered before Tuesday, October 13, in order to vote. Online, visit www.elections.virginia.gov/citizen-portal, scroll to the bottom and click “GO”. Enter the requested information – name, date of birth, last 4 digits of the social security number and location. Check the certification box and you should see your voter record. You can also activate a vote-by-mail option with a check box. If there is a problem, contact the local registrar, Katherine Davenport, at 45 Back St. in Heathsville (the old vet’s office) PO Box 84, Heathsville VA 22473 or 580-4655.

Voting Options

1) Early In-Person Voting

You can vote at the local registrar’s office at 45 Back St. in Heathsville (the old veteranarian’s office), Monday to Friday 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM, beginning on September 18, 45 days before Election Day, until Saturday October 31 at 5:00 PM. It’s just like voting at a polling place. You will be asked to provide your name and physical address and show an acceptable ID, usually a driver’s license or passport, exactly as is done at polling places on election day. Other acceptable identification options are listed at www.elections.virginia.gov/casting-a-ballot/in-person-voting. You will be handed a ballot that you can mark and insert in the machine to finish recording your vote, just as is practiced a polling places.

2) Vote By Mail (Absentee)

Anyone can use this option. Download a “vote by mail” application form: www.elec- tions.virginia.gov/media/castyourballot/ SBE-701-703.1.pdf.

Return the completed and signed form to the local registrar’s office by mail, fax,

or scanned attachment to an email before October 23, 2020 at 5 PM (kdavenport@ co.northumberland.va.us). Be sure to use your physical (“911”) address, not a P.O. Box! USPS delivery standards changed last year so that First Class delivery went from 1-3 days to 2-5 days and Standard delivery is now 2-9 days. If you intend to use the mail, don’t leave it until the last minute!

You can check to see if your absentee application or ballot was received by going to www.elections.virginia.gov/citizen-portal, or by checking with the registrar.

3) Vote in-Person on November 3

Polls are open 6:00 AM to 7:00 PM. The locations of polling places will be published in local newspapers or you can find yours online at elections.virginia.gov.

Bottom Line: Once you have made up your mind, VOTE!

SAMPLE LETTER TO THE EDITOR written by NAPS members:

Did you know citizens can now vote in person M-F, 9am – 5pm now until Saturday Oct. 31st? Northumberland citizens should go to the registrar’s office (other counties – check with your registrar) at 45 Back St. in Heathsville (the old vet’s office), state your name and physical address and show your ID. You will be handed a ballot to fill out and file just as happens at polling places on election day. It’s that simple. You are unlikely to encounter long lines that may occur on election day. You can also avoid the hassle of applying for a mail-in ballot, making sure you sign it with he same signature and physical address on record, file it well before the deadline, and wonder if your vote was really counted. If you have made up your mind, save yourself a lot of time and worry and VOTE NOW! It’s “election day” every M–F, 9 – 5 until election day!