All you need to know about registering to vote: Requirements, Methods, Special Cases

  • Requirements
    • Be a United States citizen and a resident of Virginia.
    • Be 18 years old (any person who is 17 years old and will be 18 at the next general election shall be permitted to register in advance and also vote in any intervening primary or special election.)
  • Methods
    • Register online
    • Register in person: Office of Elections, 1546 N. Franklin St., Christiansburg, VA 24073
      Phone: (540) 382-5741
      Hours: Mon.-Fri, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
    • Register by mail: check the Office of Elections webpage or call (540) 382-5741
  • Special Cases

Voting Questions Answered

  • How do I register to vote online?
  • Is my voter status active?
  • Where is my polling place and which Congressional, House of Delegates, State Senate, and local districts do I reside in?
  • How do I vote absentee?

The Department of Elections website provides information to answer all of the above questions.

If you click the link https://vote.elections.virginia.gov/VoterInformation or scan this QR code, it opens a page showing the green rectangle links:

IT’S REALLY SIMPLE TO USE THIS WEBSITE AND THE FORMS ON IT, but MCDC is providing further clarification. By clicking the green rectangle links below, you will find answers to typical questions.

If you are not registered to vote, you can register online. Register to Vote lists the requirements for online registration and includes a short form you can complete to begin the registration process.

If you are not sure whether your voter registration is active, click Check registration status and complete a short form. Your full name, voter status, address, precinct, and voter history among other information will pop up so that you can determine if all your information is correct and whether you are on the active voter list. If up-to-date, you can rest assured you are ready to vote in all the upcoming elections.

When you click Find your polling place and complete a short form, your personal voting location information will pop up. Additionally, your Congressional, State Senate, House of Delegates, and local voting districts are listed. See the example below.

This part of the website allows you to do just what the title says. You can update your voter record and/or apply to vote absentee by mail.

NAMES AND ADDRESSES OF ALL PRECINCTS (VOTING PLACES) IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY WITH A LISTING OF THE CONGRESSIONAL, HOUSE OF DELEGATES, AND STATE SENATE DISTRICTS ASSOCIATED WITH EACH PRECINCT

Voting on Election Day

Virginia law requires all voters to provide either an acceptable form of ID or sign an ID Confirmation Statement at the polls. Voters arriving at the polls without an acceptable form of ID will be required to either sign an ID Confirmation Statement or vote a provisional ballot. If a voter votes a provisional ballot, they will have until noon on the Friday following the election to deliver a copy of identification to their locality’s electoral board or sign an ID Confirmation Statement in order for their provisional ballot to be counted. Please see below in Provisional Ballot Process for Voters Who Arrive Without Identification for more information on how the provisional ballot process will work for those arriving to the polls without ID.

Maps and Other Links

​Non-partisan offices:

  • County School Board Districts (same as Board of Supervisor Districts)

A few more maps and links:

You don’t make progress by standing on the sidelines, whimpering and complaining.  You make progress by implementing ideas.
Shirley Chisolm