County of Northampton

ABSENTEE VOTING

 
There are two ways to vote absentee in Virginia, either by mail or in person in our office. Neither way requires an excuse and are often referred to as “Early Voting”. Absentee voting begins 45 days before the election.

ABSENTEE VOTING BY MAIL

 
If you would like a ballot sent to you through the mail, you must first fill out an application. If you are handy with a computer, you can go to the Department of Elections website and fill out an application there. You can also call the office, 678-0480, and request we send you an application that you can fill out and return to us. If you would like to be on a permanent absentee mailing list and have ballots sent to you automatically, please call the office for more information. The last day to request an absentee ballot through the mail is eleven days before the election, which is usually a Friday. The cut-off date for the next election is listed below.
You can drop off your mail in ballot at the Voter Registration Office during normal business hours, if you do not want to return it by mail. Your ballot must be post marked on, or before Election Day, and received no later than 3 days after the election by noon, usually a Friday, to be counted.

IN PERSON VOTING

 
If you would like to vote early in person, simply come to our office with an ID. We are located in Room 135 in the County Complex in Eastville. Voting hours are 9-5 Monday through Friday, and we are open the last two Saturdays from 9 am to 5 pm before an election. It usually takes about ten minutes depending on the line. We also offer curbside voting for those who may have trouble getting into the office. There will be a parking space marked for Curb Side Voting with a number to call for assistance. If you have a helper bring you to vote, please have the helper bring your ID into the office and alert the office staff that there is a curb side voter.
In person voting begins 45 days before the election. We are also open the last two Saturdays before the election. The last day to vote in person is the last Saturday before the election. Below are the dates and times for in person voting for the upcoming election.

“My kid is about to go off to college. Is there anything he or she should know?”

The best advice we can give is for your student to remain registered in Northampton, or register here before they go off to college. It is likely they will be asked to register by political groups or clubs on campus and be encouraged to register under their campus address. If your student registers with their campus address it will change their residency from Northampton to the campus’ locality. This may affect scholarships specific to Shore residents or have other unintended consequences.

Before your student goes, he or she should apply for an absentee ballot to be mailed to their campus address. They can apply online at https://www.elections.virginia.gov/casting-a-ballot/absentee-voting/ or contact our office to request an application at [email protected] . Also, we will be open the last two Saturdays before the election, October 24 and 31, for in-person voting. These dates often coincide with fall breaks (if they have one this year), so your student can vote in person.

Thanks for helping us out and encouraging our young folks to vote. They will find voting is simple and convenient, and hopefully this will be the start of lifetime of good voting habits.


Terrence P. Flynn
General Registrar
Northampton County
Post Office Box 510
Eastville, VA 23347
Phone: 757-678-0480
Fax: 757-678-0453

“I want to vote absentee, but I’m worried about voting by mail. I hear it’s not secure, and my ballot may not get counted. It might be a big problem in this election.”

We have heard from many voters asking some form of this question, so let’s look at the difference between mail-in voting and voting absentee by mail. There is a big difference.

Some states, Colorado, Utah, Oregon, Washington and Hawaii do have mail-in voting, and send ballots to all registered voters, but how they do this is a better discussion for later.

Virginia allows absentee voters a choice, either vote in person during the 45 day period before the election, or have your ballot mailed to you for you to fill out and return to us. We have been doing this safely and securely since the 1950’s. We will only send voters a ballot if they request it, and if they supply us with a valid mailing address. We do not send every voter on our voter roll a ballot automatically. All of our mail has an official election mail imprint on the envelope, which means that if the address is not valid for some reason, it will not be forwarded and will be returned to us. So no ballots are just sitting in mail boxes. We also have tools like Ballot Scout which can help voters and us track their ballots. Also, only the voter may return his or her ballot in person to our office, so there can be no “ballot harvesting” like you hear about in the news.

You can make sure your ballot is counted by following the directions included in the ballot package. Especially make sure you fill out Envelope B, where you put your marked ballot, correctly with your complete RESIDENTIAL address, not a PO Box, and you and a witness sign it. Anyone over 18 may be your witness, family members included. Once you have Envelope B filled out correctly, place it in the return envelope provided in your ballot package, stamp it, and return it to us in a timely fashion. In the past we had to receive your ballot by 5 p.m. on Election Day for it to be counted, but now as long as the ballot is postmarked by Election Day and received by noon the Friday after the election, it can be counted.

Voting absentee by mail in Virginia is a great help to folks in our community who are unable to get to the polls, or may be out of the county on Election Day, like truck drivers and students. If you have any questions, please call us. Also, look out for more of these discussions on voting, and if there is a topic you would like addressed, email me at [email protected]

Terry Flynn, General Registrar. 8/7/20


Terrence P. Flynn
General Registrar 
Northampton County
Post Office Box 510
Eastville, VA 23347
Phone: 757-678-0480
Fax: 757-678-0453

Department Staff Information

Terrence P. Flynn
General Registrar

Liz Smith
Assistant Registrar

Voter Registration
16404 Courthouse Rd
PO Box 510
Eastville VA 23347

Phone: 757-678-0480
Fax: 757-678-0453

[email protected]