On June 20th, Speaker Howell and I sent a letter to the Governor recognizing him for his efforts in support of our military personnel, veterans and their families, and his goal of making Virginia the most veteran/service member friendly state in the nation. We also expressed our concern about absentee voting for military personnel in the August 23 primaries that will be held in Virginia. We recommended five separate activities the Governor’s Administration could take to help get the word out to deployed military personnel. We must do everything possible to notify deployed personnel on how to obtain a ballot for the upcoming primaries. A copy of this letter can be found by clicking here. The related press release can be found by clicking here.

I need your help to spread the word to deployed military personnel about the upcoming primary elections in 9 Senate and 7 House of Delegates districts across the state on August 23, 2011. In addition, there are many primary elections for city and county offices. It is important that our deployed personnel get the opportunity to vote in these elections.

The time span for the electoral process is greatly compressed this year due to redistricting, and I am concerned that our deployed military personnel may not get the word in time to request an absentee ballot. Since the county and city election officials must mail absentee ballots to deployed military personnel by July 8, 2011 to meet the 45 day before election requirement, it is imperative that military personnel request these ballots as soon as possible. You can help me by notifying all your family members, friends, and associates who may be deployed or know of any deployed military personnel that they need to request an absentee ballot.

Due to redistricting, deployed military personnel members may not know that they are in a new House or Senate district. Therefore, if they live in one of the counties or cities listed below, they must request an absentee ballot from their city or county registrar.

Counties: Amherst, Appomattox, Arlington, Buckingham, Caroline, Clarke, Culpeper, Cumberland, Essex, Fairfax, Fauquier. Fluvanna, Frederick, Giles, Gloucester, Goochland, Isle of Wight, James City, King and Queen, King George, King William, Lancaster, Loudoun, Louisa, Matthews, Middlesex, Montgomery, Nelson, New Kent, Northampton, Northumberland, Prince Edward, Prince William, Rappahannock, Richmond, Warren, Stafford, Roanoke, Westmoreland, and York

Cities: Alexandria, Hampton, Lynchburg, Norfolk, Roanoke, Suffolk, VA Beach, and Poquoson

The registrar will have the new district boundaries and will send them an absentee ballot if they live in a district where there will be a primary election. An Absentee Ballot Application Form that includes contact information for every Registrar’s office in the state can be found by clicking here. The link to the State Board of Elections web site is www.sbe.virginia.gov. You can use this site to request an absentee ballot.

Thank you for any assistance you can give to this effort. You will be helping our deployed military members vote in the August primary and assure they have a better opportunity to receive a timely absentee ballot for the November election.

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