                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

EMERGENCY APPLICATIONS AND ABSENTEE BALLOTS FOR INDIVIDUAL EMERGENCIES (§
24.2-705)

A. Any person registered and otherwise qualified to vote may request at any time
prior to 2:00 p.m. on the day preceding the election that he be permitted to
vote by emergency absentee ballot with the assistance of his designated
representative. The Department shall prescribe a form and the instructions for
submitting such a request to the general registrar that shows that the voter
requesting an emergency absentee ballot (i) was unable to apply for an absentee
ballot by the deadline due to his hospitalization or illness, or the
hospitalization, illness, or death of a spouse, child, or parent, or other
emergency found to justify receipt of an emergency absentee ballot or (ii) will
be unable to vote on election day due to his hospitalization or illness, the
hospitalization, illness, or death of a spouse, child, or parent, or other
emergency found to justify receipt of an emergency absentee ballot that occurred
after the deadline for applying for an absentee ballot.
			The representative designated by a voter for purposes of this subsection
shall be age 18 or older and shall not be an elected official, a candidate for
elected office, or the deputy, spouse, parent, or child of an elected official
or candidate.
			The requesting voter shall sign the form and state, subject to felony
penalties for making false statements pursuant to &#xA7; 24.2-1016, that to the
best of his knowledge and belief the facts contained in the form are true and
correct. His signature shall be witnessed by the designated representative, who
shall sign and return the completed form to the office of the general registrar
no later than 5:00 p.m. on the day preceding the election. If the requesting
voter is blind or physically unable to sign the form, his designated
representative shall write on the signature line that the voter is blind or
unable to sign his form.
			On receipt of the completed form and a determination of the qualification of
the requesting voter to vote, the general registrar shall provide, in accordance
with the applicable provisions of this chapter, an absentee ballot to the
designated representative for delivery to the requesting voter.
			The requesting voter shall vote the absentee ballot as provided by law and
mark it in the presence of the designated representative. The designated
representative shall complete a statement, subject to felony penalties for
making false statements pursuant to &#xA7; 24.2-1016, that (i) he is the
designated representative of the requesting voter; (ii) he personally delivered
the ballot to the voter who applied for it; (iii) in his presence, the voter
marked the ballot, the ballot was placed in the envelope provided, the envelope
was sealed, and the statement on its reverse side was signed by the requesting
voter; and (iv) the ballot was returned, under seal, to the general registrar at
the registrar&#8217;s office.
			The ballot shall be counted only if the ballot is received by the general
registrar prior to the close of polls, and the general registrar shall deliver
the ballot to the officers of election at each appropriate precinct pursuant to
&#xA7; 24.2-710.

B. A qualified voter may vote absentee in person in the office of the general
registrar through 2:00 p.m. on the day immediately preceding the election by
complying with the requirements of § 24.2-643 and affirming that one of the
following emergency circumstances will prevent him from voting on election day:

   1. After 12:00 p.m. on the Saturday before the election, an obligation arose
   that requires the voter be absent from his county or city on election day for
   (i) his business, profession, or occupation; (ii) the hospitalization of the
   voter or a member of his immediate family; or (iii) the death of a member of
   his immediate family. For purposes of this subdivision, &#8220;immediate
   family&#8221; means the child, grandchild, parent, grandparent, legal
   guardian, sibling, or spouse of the voter.

   2. The voter is an officer of election who was assigned after 12:00 p.m. on
   the Saturday before the election to work in a precinct other than his own on
   election day.

C. The Commissioner of Elections may act administratively to facilitate absentee
voting by qualified voters who are emergency workers or utility workers or who
otherwise respond to and offer assistance to an area in which a state of
emergency has been declared by an appropriate authority. These administrative
actions may include central issuance and acceptance of absentee ballots for
federal and state elections using the systems and procedures developed for
voters who are members of a uniformed service.

HISTORY: 1989, c. 192, § 24.1-229.1; 1990, c. 200; 1993, cc. 420, 641; 1996, c.
224; 1997, cc. 523, 539; 1999, c. 590; 2001, c. 622; 2006, c. 297; 2008, c. 880;
2015, cc. 644, 645; 2020, cc. 289, 1157, 1163; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 471.