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<law><site_title>Virginia Decoded</site_title><site_url>https://vacode.org</site_url><law_id>59861</law_id><section_number>24.2-643</section_number><catch_line>Qualified voter permitted to vote; procedures at polling place; voter identification</catch_line><edition url="https://vacode.org/2025/" slug="2025" current="TRUE" last_updated="">2025</edition><referred_to_by><reference>24.2-653</reference><reference>24.2-653.01</reference><reference>24.2-653.1</reference><reference>24.2-701</reference><reference>24.2-701.1</reference><reference>24.2-705</reference><reference>24.2-712</reference></referred_to_by><structure><unit label="title" level="1" order_by="1" identifier="24.2">Elections</unit><unit label="chapter" level="2" order_by="1" identifier="6">The Election</unit><unit label="article" level="3" order_by="1" identifier="4">Conduct of Election; Election Results</unit></structure><text>
						<section id="A"><p><span class="prefix-number">A.</span> After the polls are open, each <span class="dictionary">qualified voter</span> at a <span class="dictionary">precinct</span> shall be permitted to vote. The officers of <span class="dictionary">election</span> shall ascertain that a person offering to vote is a <span class="dictionary">qualified voter</span> before admitting him to the voting booth and furnishing an official ballot to him. <a id="paragraph-219273" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/24.2-643/#A"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="B"><p><span class="prefix-number">B.</span> An <span class="dictionary">officer of election</span> shall ask the voter for his full name and current <span class="dictionary">residence</span> address and the voter may give such information orally or in writing. The <span class="dictionary">officer of election</span> shall verify with the voter his full name and address and shall repeat, in a voice audible to <span class="dictionary">party</span> and <span class="dictionary">candidate</span> representatives present, the full name provided by the voter. The officer shall ask the voter to present any one of the following forms of identification: (i) his voter confirmation documents; (ii) his valid Virginia driver&#x2019;s license, his valid United States passport, or any other identification issued by the Commonwealth, one of its political subdivisions, or the United States, other than a driver <span class="dictionary">privilege</span> card issued under &#xA7; <a class="law" title="Driver privilege cards and permits" href="/46.2-328.3/">46.2-328.3</a> or an identification <span class="dictionary">privilege</span> card issued under &#xA7; <a class="law" title="Issuance of identification privilege cards; fee; confidentiality; penalties" href="/46.2-345.3/">46.2-345.3</a>; (iii) any valid student identification card issued by any institution of higher education located in the Commonwealth or any private school located in the Commonwealth; (iv) any valid student identification card containing a photograph of the voter and issued by any institution of higher education located in any other state or territory of the United States; (v) any valid employee identification card containing a photograph of the voter and issued by an employer of the voter in the ordinary course of the employer&#x2019;s business; or (vi) a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document containing the name and address of the voter. The expiration date on a Virginia driver&#x2019;s license shall not be considered when determining the validity of the driver&#x2019;s license offered for purposes of this section.
			Except as provided in subsection E, any voter who does not show one of the forms of identification specified in this subsection shall be allowed to vote after signing a statement, subject to <span class="dictionary">felony</span> penalties for false statements pursuant to &#xA7; <a class="law" title="False statements; penalties" href="/24.2-1016/">24.2-1016</a>, that he is the named <span class="dictionary">registered voter</span> he claims to be. A voter who requires assistance in voting by reason of a physical disability or an inability to read or write, and who requests assistance pursuant to &#xA7; <a class="law" title="Assistance for certain voters inside the polling place; penalties" href="/24.2-649/">24.2-649</a>, may be assisted in preparation of this statement in accordance with that section. The provisions of &#xA7; <a class="law" title="Assistance for certain voters inside the polling place; penalties" href="/24.2-649/">24.2-649</a> regarding voters who are unable to sign shall be followed when assisting a voter in completing this statement. A voter who does not show one of the forms of identification specified in this subsection and does not sign this statement shall be offered a provisional ballot under the provisions of &#xA7; <a class="law" title="Provisional voting; procedures in polling place" href="/24.2-653/">24.2-653</a>. The <span class="dictionary">State Board</span> of <span class="dictionary">Elections</span> shall provide an ID-ONLY provisional ballot envelope that requires no follow-up action by the registrar or <span class="dictionary">electoral board</span> other than matching submitted identification documents from the voter for the <span class="dictionary">electoral board</span> to make a determination on whether to count the ballot.
			If the voter presents one of the forms of identification listed above, if his name is found on the pollbook in a form identical to or substantially similar to the name on the presented form of identification and the name provided by the voter, if he is qualified to vote in the election, and if no objection is made, an officer shall enter, opposite the voter&#x2019;s name on the pollbook, the first or next consecutive number from the voter count form provided by the <span class="dictionary">State Board</span>, or shall enter that the voter has voted if the pollbook is in electronic form; an officer shall provide the voter with the official ballot; and another officer shall admit him to the voting booth. Each voter whose name has been marked on the pollbooks as present to vote and entitled to a ballot shall remain in the presence of the officers of election in the <span class="dictionary">polling place</span> until he has voted. If a line of voters who have been marked on the pollbooks as present to vote forms to await entry to the voting booths, the line shall not be permitted to extend outside of the room containing the voting booths and shall remain under observation by the officers of election.
			A voter may be accompanied into the voting booth by his child age 15 or younger. <a id="paragraph-219274" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/24.2-643/#B"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="C"><p><span class="prefix-number">C.</span> If the current <span class="dictionary">residence</span> address provided by the voter is different from the address shown on the pollbook, the <span class="dictionary">officer of election</span> shall furnish the voter with a change of address form prescribed by the <span class="dictionary">State Board</span>. Upon its completion, the voter shall sign the prescribed form, subject to <span class="dictionary">felony</span> penalties for making false statements pursuant to &#xA7; <a class="law" title="False statements; penalties" href="/24.2-1016/">24.2-1016</a>, which the <span class="dictionary">officer of election</span> shall then place in an envelope provided for such forms for transmission to the <span class="dictionary">general registrar</span> who shall then transfer or cancel the registration of such voter pursuant to Chapter 4 (&#xA7; <a class="law" title="Persons entitled to register and vote" href="/24.2-400/">24.2-400</a> et seq.). <a id="paragraph-219275" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/24.2-643/#C"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="D"><p><span class="prefix-number">D.</span> At the time the voter is asked his full name and current <span class="dictionary">residence</span> address, the <span class="dictionary">officer of election</span> shall ask any voter for whom the pollbook indicates that an identification number other than a social security number is recorded on the <span class="dictionary">Virginia <span class="dictionary">voter registration system</span></span> if he presently has a social security number. If the voter is able to provide his social security number, he shall be furnished with a voter registration form prescribed by the <span class="dictionary">State Board</span> to update his registration information. Upon its completion, the form shall be placed by the <span class="dictionary">officer of election</span> in an envelope provided for such forms for transmission to the <span class="dictionary">general registrar</span>. Any social security numbers so provided shall be entered by the <span class="dictionary">general registrar</span> in the voter&#x2019;s record on the <span class="dictionary">voter registration system</span>. <a id="paragraph-219276" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/24.2-643/#D"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="E"><p><span class="prefix-number">E.</span> This subsection shall apply in the case of any individual who is required by subparagraph (b) of 52 U.S.C. &#xA7; 21083 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to show identification the first time he votes in a federal election in the state. At such election, such individual shall present (i) a current and valid photo identification or (ii) a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that shows the name and address of the voter. Such individual who desires to vote in person but does not show one of the forms of identification specified in this subsection shall be offered a provisional ballot under the provisions of &#xA7; <a class="law" title="Provisional voting; procedures in polling place" href="/24.2-653/">24.2-653</a>. The identification requirements of subsection B of this section and subsection A of &#xA7; <a class="law" title="Provisional voting; procedures in polling place" href="/24.2-653/">24.2-653</a> shall not apply to such voter at such election. The <span class="dictionary">Department of Elections</span> shall provide instructions to the <span class="dictionary">electoral boards</span> for the handling and counting of such provisional ballots pursuant to subsection B of &#xA7; <a class="law" title="Provisional voting; procedures in polling place" href="/24.2-653/">24.2-653</a> and this section. <a id="paragraph-219277" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/24.2-643/#E"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section></text><history>Code 1950, &#xA7;&#xA7; 24-244, 24-245, 24-248, 24-252, 24-308; 1952, c. 581; 1962, c. 536; 1964, c. 593; 1970, c. 462, &#xA7;&#xA7; 24.1-125, 24.1-126, 24.1-129, 24.1-218; 1971, Ex. Sess., c. 247; 1973, c. 30; 1975, c. 515; 1978, c. 778; 1981, c. 425; 1982, c. 650, &#xA7; 24.1-126.1; 1984, c. 234; 1985, cc. 197, 458; 1987, c. 349; 1993, c. 641; 1995, c. 716; 1996, cc. 72, 73; 1999, c. 725; 2000, cc. 366, 451; 2003, c. 1015; 2004, c. 410; 2005, cc. 496, 539; 2011, cc. 427, 458; 2012, cc. 723, 838, 839; 2013, cc. 725, 746; 2015, cc. 134, 571; 2016, c. 399; 2020, cc. 296, 1064, 1065, 1154, 1227, 1246; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 544.</history><metadata></metadata></law>
