RICHMOND, Va. — Since 2022, voters in Virginia have been allowed to cast a ballot on Election Day even if they missed the October 15 registration deadline.
Twenty states and the District of Columbia allow voters to register on Election Day.
Exactly who takes advantage of same-day registration changes based on each locality across the Commonwealth?
Richmond City General Registrar Keith Balmer said cities or counties with universities or colleges have seen high usage among young students. That was true for Virginia Commonwealth University students in Richmond.
“They're first-time voters for the most part, and a lot of instances, they're just not registered to vote. This is their first experience going through the voting process,” Balmer explained.
In 2022, Balmer said Charlottesville (University of Virginia), Harrisonburg, (James Madison University), and Montgomery County (Virginia Tech) also saw some of the highest percentage of same-day registrations.
According to General Registrar Teri Smithson, Hanover County with Randolph-Macon College, located in the town of Ashland, is an outlier.
“We have citizens that have never voted and are in the 60 to 80-year-old age range that are coming out and registering to vote. Unfortunately, they missed that cut off so they're doing same-day registrations,” Smithson described.
Voters shared mixed reactions on the legality of same-day registration.
One supporter of former President Donald Trump who wanted to remain anonymous said voters should take responsibility for missing the October 15 registration deadline. They noted Virginia offers 45 days of in-person early voting along with absentee and mail-in ballots.
Caroline Winston supports the idea.
“A lot of people aren't tuned in until closer to the election, and they're just devastated when they didn't realize the cutoff,” she said. “Just don't think twice. It's your right, and whatever motivated you to feel that way at the last minute as perfectly fine.”
John Hicks said his opinion regarding same-day registration is two-fold.
“Anything that gets more people to vote needs to happen,” he said. “On the other hand, I like to know the people that are voting have the legal right to vote.”
Smithson said Virginia election officials locally and statewide are intentional about checking and verifying the individual using same-day registration is first, a U.S. citizen, and allowed to vote in that particular precinct.
Balmer’s office offers a College Student Voter Guide which lists the residence address and precinct information for every dorm in the city.
The guide will be accessible at all the college precincts on Election Day so those using same-day registration are confident their vote will be counted.
The polls in Virginia are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.
You will still be allowed to vote on Election Day if you’re in line by 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
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