While Election Day is next week, Virginians have been voting for weeks.
Democrats have an edge in early votes, leading Republicans in the total number of ballots that have been cast so far in person absentee and mailed in. That’s according to data compiled by the Virginia Public Access Project. Some of the largest turnout is in Northern Virginia – congressional districts currently represented by Gerry Connolly and Don Beyer.
Democratic Party chairwoman Susan Swecker says the early vote numbers are rolling in just as planned.
"Our satellite locations and weekend voting opened up only last week in a lot of our Northern Virginia locations, where we have great Democratic enthusiasm and turnout," Swecker says. "So, we always knew there would be a pickup."
So, Democrats might have an overall advantage in the number of ballots that have been cast, but the numbers also clearly show a shift for Republicans, who are seeing a significant spike in the early vote. Former Republican Delegate David Ramadan is now at George Mason University's Schar School.
"Republicans in Virginia were for early voting before they were against it during the Trump era and now, they are back to early voting," Ramadan says. "This is nothing new for the Republicans. Back when I ran for office, we had a whole early voting program that we ran."
Earlier this year, Republicans in the General Assembly were trying to roll back early voting. Now, they seem to be embracing it as a way to get out the vote.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
