Today is Thursday and there are only TWO or THREE days left for qualified voters to beat the crowds for in person absentee voting in a number of cities and suburbs across the Commonwealth of Virginia – depending on whether or not your jurisdiction has Saturday hours for early voting. Reasons for voting absentee include travelling, going to college, or working out of the jurisdiction in which you are registered to vote on Election Day, as well as having a disability. As Disability Issues Caucus Chair, I would strongly encourage anyone with reason and opportunity to vote early to do so – particularly voters with disabilities. I voted early myself last Saturday in Arlington. Though I know there’s a special magical feeling to going out on the day of an election and pressing the button or filling out your ballot, there are some very good reasons to vote early. During the February primary some polling places in urban areas endured three hour lines and polling places that lacked the capacity to handle the number of voters turning out. Even though early voting is being used by many more Virginian voters this year than in the past, the in-person absentee voter lines seldom exceed an hour in waiting time. Besides having that good feeling of voting yourself, it will also make it easier for others to cast their ballots on the day of the election!!! So much is at stake that you cannot afford to take a chance on missing out on casting a ballot this year!!! Virginia is a swing state and could be the decisive state in electing Senator Obama as the next President, Mark Warner is on the ballot for the Senate, and there are at least four vigorously contested Congressional Races: Virginia 05 Tom Perriello (D) versus Virgil Goode (R) Virgina 10 Judy Feder (D) versus Frank Wolf (R) Virginia 11 Gerry Connolly (D) versus Keith Fimian (R ) For other jurisdictions, contact your Registrar of Elections and ask if they have in person early vote hours. Contact information for other registrars can be found at the bottom link. IN-PERSON ABSENTEE VOTING LINKS
Fairfax
Albermarle/Charlottesville
Arlington
Alexandria
City of Chesapeake
City of Falls Church
Fredricksburg
Lexington
Loudoun County
Manassas
Manassas Park
Prince William County
Richmond
Virginia Beach
All voter registrar offices -- call and ask for "in-person absentee voting information"
