Monday: Weekday Absentee Voting in Reston; Last Day for Voter Registration

Absentee balloting ramps up in Reston on Monday, Oct. 17 when in-person, weekday voting begins at the North County Governmental Center, 1801 Cameron Glen Dr.

There are 19 reasons to vote absentee. Among them:

• Student attending college or university outside of locality of residence in Virginia
• Spouse of student attending college or university outside locality of residence in Virginia
• Business outside County/City of residence on Election Day
• Personal business or vacation outside County/City of residence on Election Day
• I am working and commuting to/from home for 11 or more hours between 6:00 AM and 7:00 PM on Election Day
• I am a first responder (member of law enforcement, firefighter, emergency technician, search and rescue)
• My disability or illness
• I am primarily and personally responsible for the care of a disabled/ill family member confined at home
• My pregnancy
• Confined, awaiting trial
• Confined, convicted of a misdemeanor
• An electoral board member, registrar, officer of election, or custodian of voting equipment
• I have a religious obligation
• Active Duty Merchant Marine or Armed Forces
• Spouse or dependent living with a member of Active Duty Merchant Marine or Armed Forces
• Temporarily residing outside of US
• Temporarily residing outside of US for employment or spouse or dependent residing with employee
• Authorized representative of candidate or party serving inside the polling place

The North County Government Center polls will be open Monday – Friday, 2-8 p.m through Nov. 4; and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Nov. 5.

If you want to vote by mail, not that the U.S. Postal Service has changed its delivery standards and First Class mail delivery is now two to five days. Standard delivery is now two to nine days.

The Fairfax County Office of Elections advises taking this into consideration and allowing ample time to apply for and mail-in your absentee ballot so that it is delivered to the Office of Elections by Election Day, Nov. 8  by 7 p.m.  If you still need a ballot you can apply online.

Absentee ballots are counted on election night after 7 p.m. (when polls close) and included with the other 243 precinct results, says the Fairfax County Office of Elections.

Monday is also the last day to register to vote in Virginia. Go to Vote.Virginia.Gov to register or update registration.

Meanwhile, here are some stats from Fairfax County (through Wednesday)

Absentee ballots cast to date:

In-person – 9,299

Mail-in ballots received – 6,216

Total – 15,515

(For reference, in 2012 the final total of absentee ballots cast was 92,540).

Absentee ballots mailed out – 33,630