Elections

The votes have been counted, final results tallied and now the outcome certified. It’s the final stage in the election process.

The special elections in northern Virginia and Hampton Roads come at a time when Republicans are trying to figure out next steps after an extremely disappointing election cycle.

In many ways, this election will be an election of firsts. It'll be the first time Virginia has same-day voter registration. And it'll be the first time that early votes will be recorded in the precinct where the voters live instead of a jurisdiction-wide at-large precinct.

The idea of the election night mirage created worry in Virginia among Democrats and Republicans, who grew increasingly concerned as election results were coming in but the early votes had yet to be counted.

In movies and on TV, hackers seem to be able to get into almost any system. But in real life, things work a bit differently – especially with Virginia's election system.

There are more than 2,000 voting locations across Virginia. And each one is staffed by a handful of dedicated poll workers. These folks don’t work in elections year round, but choose each year to spend a day helping make democracy run. Here’s the story of one man in Roanoke who’s been doing it for almost 30 years.

What happens if you show up to an early voting location, and there's an armed poll watcher there? Guns are prohibited at polling places in Virginia, but that only applies to 40 feet from the front door of the voting location — along with some other exceptions.

Your local registrar has a sample ballot that’ll show you what's on the ballot where you live. But political parties also have sample ballots, pieces of paper that are mailed to members of a political party and handed out at polling places.

As long as campaign volunteers are more than 40 feet from the front door of a polling location, they can record voters coming and going and ask questions about which candidates they’re supporting. Voters don't have to answer, of course. But the campaigners have a First Amendment right to take pictures and ask questions.

When Election Day was the sole focus of campaigns, the idea of an October surprise was a time-honored way to change the narrative leading into the final few weeks before an election. But now with early voting, Election Day is more of a season. And every day in October is essentially Election Day.