Virginians cast about 250,000 more early votes this year than in the last gubernatorial election in 2021. That year saw the state flip red for the first time in a decade. So, does that mean anything in 2025?
J. Miles Coleman is with UVA’s Center for Politics. He said it could be that, following big changes to early voting during the pandemic, Virginians are starting to get used to the system.
“Every state has its own kind of political culture and sometimes it takes a few years for those changes to really work themselves out,”
Coleman told Radio IQ.
Stephen Farnsworth is a political science professor at the University of Mary Washington. He said it could mean Republicans have learned from years past, when national Republicans criticized early voting. But that means it could eat into day-of turnout this year.
“Locking in votes of people who are going to vote your side," Farnsworth said in an interview Monday. "You’ve really made election day an easier day for you because then you can concentrate your energies on those who haven’t voted yet.”
Jatia Wrighten is a political science professor at VCU. She said no matter the impact early vote has on the election’s outcome, it can make it easier for working class and women voters to access the polls.
“And that’s one thing we should keep in mind, what's the purpose of early voting?" Wrighten opined. "It really is to give as much opportunity to people as possible.”
Polls open at 6 am Tuesday and close at 7 pm.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
