ROANOKE, Va. (WFXR) – Election security was a major issue surrounding the 2020 election, placing a large emphasis on the measures in place to keep the 2024 election secure.
Over 1.4 million Virginians have already cast ballots for this year’s election as early voting has become increasingly popular in recent years.
That means some ballots are completed up to 46 days before election day, and many wonder what happens to their ballot over that span.
“You fill out your ballot and complete it and insert it into one of our voting machine tabulators just like you would on election day at the precinct,” said Radford City general registrar Lindsey Williams. “Then it is kept right there in that tabulator until election night.”
The machines remain locked until 7 p.m. on election night.
Another point of emphasis among registrars and electoral boards is ensuring that no one votes twice.
It is an uncommon issue, but if it happens, there is a process in place to sort everything out.
“If a person insists on voting, we let them vote a provisional ballot,” said Williams. “Then, after the election, we do some research, we tell our electoral board this person has already voted, and that ballot will not be counted.”
To prevent that scenario in the first place, each voter must present a valid form of ID that matches the information of a registered voter in that locality.
That allows election officials to keep track of who has already voted, which is important in cases where someone votes in person but also requests an absentee ballot.
“We would see that the person has received an absentee ballot,” said Williams. “Then we would tell them they need to surrender that absentee ballot before you can vote on election day.”
Those who request absentee ballots and choose to mail them back can check the status of the ballot on the Virginia Department of Elections website.
For those who return their absentee ballots in person, each locality provides a ballot drop-box that is kept locked and under 24-hour video surveillance.
The final day to vote early in Virginia is Saturday, November 2.
