                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

ASSISTANCE FOR CERTAIN VOTERS OUTSIDE OF THE POLLING PLACE (§ 24.2-649.1)

A. Any qualified voter who is a person with a disability or who is age 65 or
older shall be entitled to vote outside of the polling place in accordance with
the provisions of this section. However, during a declared state of emergency
related to a communicable disease of public health threat, any voter, regardless
of age or disability, shall be entitled to vote outside of the polling place in
accordance with the provisions of this section. For purposes of this section, a
disability shall include a permanent or temporary disability, or an injury.

B. The area designated for voting outside of the polling place shall be within
150 feet of the entrance to the polling place. This area shall be clearly
marked, and instructions on how to notify an officer of election of the
voter&#8217;s request to vote outside of the polling place shall be prominently
displayed. The Department shall prescribe the form and content of such
instructions, but in no case shall the voter be required to enter the polling
place to provide such notice.

C. A voter eligible pursuant to subsection A shall be handed a printed ballot by
an officer of election. He shall mark the ballot in the officer&#8217;s presence
but in a secret manner and, obscuring his vote, shall return the ballot to the
officer. The officer shall immediately return to the polling place and shall
deposit a paper ballot in the ballot container in accordance with &#xA7;
24.2-646 or a machine-readable ballot in the ballot scanner machine in
accordance with the instructions of the State Board.

D. Any county or city that has acquired an electronic voting machine that is so
constructed as to be easily portable may use the voting machine in lieu of a
printed ballot for voting outside of the polling place, so long as: (i) the
voting machine remains in the plain view of two officers of election
representing two political parties, or in a primary election, two officers of
election representing the party conducting the primary, provided that if the use
of two officers for this purpose would result in too few officers remaining in
the polling place to meet legal requirements, the voting machine shall remain in
plain view of one officer who shall be either the chief officer or the assistant
chief officer and (ii) the voter casts his ballot in a secret manner unless the
voter requests assistance pursuant to &#xA7; 24.2-649.
			After the voter has completed voting his ballot, the officer or officers
shall immediately return the voting machine to its assigned location inside the
polling place and shall record (a) the machine number, (b) the time that the
machine was removed and the time that it was returned, (c) the number on the
machine&#8217;s public counter before the machine was removed and the number on
the same counter when it was returned, and (d) the name or names of the officer
or officers who accompanied the machine on the statement of results. The names
of the voters who used the machine while it was removed shall also be recorded,
provided that secrecy of the ballot is maintained in accordance with guidance
from the State Board. If a polling place fails to record the information
required in clause (a), (b), (c), or (d), or it is later proven that the
information recorded was intentionally falsified, the local electoral board or
general registrar shall dismiss at a minimum the chief officer or the assistant
chief officer, or both, as appropriate, and shall dismiss any other officer of
election who is shown to have caused the failure to record the required
information intentionally or by gross negligence or to have intentionally
falsified the information. The dismissed officers shall not be allowed
thereafter to serve as an officer or other election official anywhere in the
Commonwealth.

E. Training on providing assistance for voters outside of the polling place
pursuant to this section shall be provided to all officers of election as part
of the training required by subsection A of &#xA7; 24.2-115.2.

HISTORY: 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 163; 2024, cc. 191, 515.