Third-Party Voter Mailing Appears Accurate In Alexandria

ALEXANDRIA, VA — After the Virginia Department of Elections advised that voters in some localities received absentee ballot applications with incorrect information, the City of Alexandria believes this isn't the case in the city.

The third-party mailing from the nonprofit Center for Voter Information includes a pre-filled absentee ballot application with pre-paid return envelopes. In Fairfax County, the return address was for the City of Fairfax registrar, not the Fairfax County registrar.

According to a city news release, mailings to Alexandria appear to have the right return address for the Alexandria Officer of Voter Registration and Elections. If applications happen to arrive in the wrong locality, they will be forwarded to the correct office to be processed.

The mailings may cause confusion for residents who did not request an absentee ballot or have already applied. The mailing includes the correct Virginia Vote by Mail Application, and it can be used to request a ballot. Voters who have already applied for absentee ballots do not need to submit a second application.

Voters can also apply for an absentee ballot online at vote.elections.virginia.gov. The status of an absentee ballot application can also be checked at that link.

Absentee ballots will start to be mailed out during the week of Sept. 18, the start of the absentee voting period. The deadline to submit an absentee ballot application is 5 p.m. on Oct. 23.

In-person absentee voting will happen from Sept. 18 to Oct. 31 at the Alexandria Voter Registration Office, 132 North Royal Street, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Additional hours and satellite locations will be shared on Alexandria's absentee voting page. An acceptable form of ID is required to vote in person, but it no longer has to be a photo ID.

The voter registration deadline for the November election is Oct. 13. Voter registration can be completed at vote.elections.virginia.gov, or a paper application can be returned.