Richmond General Registrar open for absentee voting and candidacy filing, closed for all other business through city closure

The City of Richmond is scheduled to be closed through May 17, 2020 due to COVID-19. However, the Office of the General Registrar will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays for in person absentee voting for the June primary starting May 8, 2020. Until city offices open to the public, voters should come to the Broad Street side of City Hall (900 East Broad Street) to vote in person. Persons who need handicapped accessibility may enter through the 9^th Street side but must ask to be escorted to the voting area. Curbside voting for persons 65 and older or disabled will be available from the 9^th Street side of 900 East Broad Street. Voters needing curbside voting should pull up to the curb and ring the call bell that will be there.

Persons wishing to file candidate campaign documents for the November election may e-mail VoterRegistration@richmondgov.com and request an appointment. They should specify the date and time they wish to file. Please visit www.elections.virginia.gov for filing requirements and forms.

The Office of the General Registrar will be closed to the public for other business so long as the City of Richmond is closed. Voters who have a valid Virginia DMV ID may register to vote or apply for an absentee ballot online and paperlessly at www.elections.virginia.gov. Those that do not have a valid Virginia DMV ID can print the forms out from that website and mail them to P.O. Box 61037, Richmond, Virginia 23261. Persons who do not have printers may e-mail us at VoterRegistration@richmondgov.com and we will mail you a form upon request. If you do not have email, please call Richmond 311 at (804) 646-7000 and they will send us a message that you need assistance.

The next election in the City of Richmond will be a Democratic Party Primary election for U.S. House of Representatives, 4^th District, and a Republican Party Primary election for U.S. Senate. Voters may only vote in one primary or the other; they may not vote in both primaries. The purpose of these elections is to nominate candidates to appear on the ballot in November. These primary elections will be in all City precincts.

The original date for the primary elections was June 9, but that date was changed by order of the Governor to June 23, 2020. The polls will be open 6:00 AM to 7:00 PM on June 23, 2020. The deadline to register to vote is Tuesday, May 26, 2020. The deadline to apply for an absentee ballot through the mail is 5 p.m., Tuesday, June 16, 2020. The deadline to apply for an absentee ballot in person (with limited exceptions) is 5 p.m., Saturday, June 20, 2020. Virginia will require an excuse to vote absentee through June 2020. However, the state has granted liberal use of reason code 2A (illness or disability) due to COVID-19 for persons wishing to vote absentee through the mail for June. Sample ballots and more information can be found at http://www.richmondgov.com/Registrar/index.aspx.