Elections in
Virginia
are authorized under Article I of the
Virginia State Constitution
, sections 5?6, and Article V which establishes elections for the state-level officers, cabinet, and legislature. Article VII section 4 establishes the election of county-level officers. Elections are regulated under state statute 24.2-102. The
Virginia State Board of Elections
oversees the execution of elections under state law. In a 2020 study, Virginia was ranked as the 12th easiest state for citizens to vote in.
[1]
Voters do not register by party in Virginia, and Virginia conducts "open primaries" where any voter may cast a ballot for either party. In general elections, the party affiliations of local candidates do not appear on the ballot. Candidates for federal, statewide, and General Assembly offices appear on the ballot with party designations.
[2]
Besides the
Democratic Party of Virginia
and the
Republican Party of Virginia
, other parties include the
Libertarian Party of Virginia
, Constitution Party of Virginia,
Green Party of Virginia
, and the
Independent Greens of Virginia
. Third parties and independents have benefited from
electoral reform in Virginia
, especially streamlined
ballot access
, and have made their presence known by appearing on statewide ballots and even winning seats to
soil and water conservation district
boards.
In 2009, Governor
Tim Kaine
proposed to authorize no-excuse early voting in Virginia elections, noting that 26 other states allow it.
[3]
On January 26, 2009, the bill passed the Democratic-controlled Senate.
[4]
However, the Republican-controlled House of delegates killed the proposal.
Governor Kaine worked with a coalition of civic groups to work to restore the
voting rights of felons
who were convicted of non-violent crimes in the past. Kaine's staff reviewed each individual application from felons who had been out of prison for at least five years without an additional conviction. An estimated 300,000 Virginia citizens are not allowed to vote due to a prior felony conviction.
[5]
Administration
[
edit
]
The
U.S. state
of
Virginia
holds its state
general elections
on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November (better known as
Election Day
) in every second odd-numbered years. As a result of this, general elections in Virginia systematically follow the quadrennial
United States presidential election
by one year.
During general elections in Virginia, elections are held for the statewide executive positions of
governor
,
lieutenant governor
, and
attorney general
. Elections are also held for legislative positions in the
Senate of Virginia
and the
Virginia House of Delegates
and the county-level offices of
Commonwealth's attorney
,
sheriff
,
clerk of court
,
Treasurer
, and
Commissioner of the Revenue
. Officials elected to the House of Delegates serve a term of two years, and clerks of court are elected to eight-year terms. All other officials are elected for a term of four years.
[6]
[7]
[8]
Virginia's governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general are elected at large. State senators and members of the House of Delegates are elected in
single-member districts
, and county-level officials are elected by county.
Virginia has 100 seats in its House of Delegates, and 40 seats in its Senate.
Balance of power
[
edit
]
Virginia Government balance of power
History
[
edit
]
Gubernatorial election results
[9]
Year
|
Democratic
|
Republican
|
1953
|
54.8%
226,998
|
44.3%
183,328
|
1957
|
63.2%
326,921
|
36.4%
188,628
|
1961
|
63.9%
251,861
|
36.2%
142,567
|
1965
|
47.9%
296,526
|
37.7%
212,207
|
1969
|
45.4%
415,695
|
52.5%
480,869
|
1973
|
49.3%
510,103
|
50.7%
525,075
|
1977
|
43.3%
541,319
|
55.9%
699,302
|
1981
|
53.6%
760,357
|
46.4%
659,398
|
1985
|
55.2%
741,438
|
44.8%
601,652
|
1989
|
50.1%
897,139
|
49.8%
890,285
|
1993
|
40.9%
733,527
|
58.3%
1,045,319
|
1997
|
42.6%
738,971
|
55.8%
969,062
|
2001
|
52.2%
984,177
|
47.0%
887,234
|
2005
|
51.7%
1,025,942
|
46.0%
912,327
|
2009
|
41.3%
818,950
|
58.6%
1,163,651
|
2013
|
47.8%
1,069,789
|
45.2%
1,013,354
|
2017
|
53.9%
1,409,175
|
45.0%
1,175,731
|
2021
|
48.6%
1,600,116
|
50.6%
1,663,596
|
United States presidential election results for Virginia
[9]
Year
|
Republican
/
Whig
|
Democratic
|
Third party
|
No.
|
%
|
No.
|
%
|
No.
|
%
|
2020
|
1,962,430
|
44.00%
|
2,413,568
|
54.11%
|
84,526
|
1.89%
|
2016
|
1,769,443
|
44.43%
|
1,981,473
|
49.75%
|
231,836
|
5.82%
|
2012
|
1,822,522
|
47.28%
|
1,971,820
|
51.16%
|
60,147
|
1.56%
|
2008
|
1,725,005
|
46.33%
|
1,959,532
|
52.63%
|
38,723
|
1.04%
|
2004
|
1,716,959
|
53.68%
|
1,454,742
|
45.48%
|
26,666
|
0.83%
|
2000
|
1,437,490
|
52.47%
|
1,217,290
|
44.44%
|
84,667
|
3.09%
|
1996
|
1,138,350
|
47.10%
|
1,091,060
|
45.15%
|
187,232
|
7.75%
|
1992
|
1,150,517
|
44.97%
|
1,038,650
|
40.59%
|
369,498
|
14.44%
|
1988
|
1,309,162
|
59.74%
|
859,799
|
39.23%
|
22,648
|
1.03%
|
1984
|
1,337,078
|
62.29%
|
796,250
|
37.09%
|
13,307
|
0.62%
|
1980
|
989,609
|
53.03%
|
752,174
|
40.31%
|
124,249
|
6.66%
|
1976
|
836,554
|
49.29%
|
813,896
|
47.96%
|
46,644
|
2.75%
|
1972
|
988,493
|
67.84%
|
438,887
|
30.12%
|
29,639
|
2.03%
|
1968
|
590,319
|
43.36%
|
442,387
|
32.49%
|
328,785
|
24.15%
|
1964
|
481,334
|
46.18%
|
558,038
|
53.54%
|
2,895
|
0.28%
|
1960
|
404,521
|
52.44%
|
362,327
|
46.97%
|
4,601
|
0.60%
|
1956
|
386,459
|
55.37%
|
267,760
|
38.36%
|
43,759
|
6.27%
|
1952
|
349,037
|
56.32%
|
268,677
|
43.36%
|
1,975
|
0.32%
|
1948
|
172,070
|
41.04%
|
200,786
|
47.89%
|
46,400
|
11.07%
|
1944
|
145,243
|
37.39%
|
242,276
|
62.36%
|
966
|
0.25%
|
1940
|
109,363
|
31.55%
|
235,961
|
68.08%
|
1,283
|
0.37%
|
1936
|
98,336
|
29.39%
|
234,980
|
70.23%
|
1,274
|
0.38%
|
1932
|
89,637
|
30.09%
|
203,979
|
68.46%
|
4,326
|
1.45%
|
1928
|
164,609
|
53.91%
|
140,146
|
45.90%
|
603
|
0.20%
|
1924
|
73,312
|
32.79%
|
139,716
|
62.48%
|
10,574
|
4.73%
|
1920
|
87,456
|
37.86%
|
141,670
|
61.33%
|
1,873
|
0.81%
|
1916
|
49,356
|
32.05%
|
102,824
|
66.77%
|
1,812
|
1.18%
|
1912
|
23,288
|
17.00%
|
90,332
|
65.95%
|
23,356
|
17.05%
|
1908
|
52,572
|
38.36%
|
82,946
|
60.52%
|
1,547
|
1.13%
|
1904
|
48,180
|
36.95%
|
80,649
|
61.84%
|
1,581
|
1.21%
|
1900
|
115,769
|
43.82%
|
146,079
|
55.29%
|
2,360
|
0.89%
|
1896
|
135,379
|
45.94%
|
154,708
|
52.50%
|
4,587
|
1.56%
|
1892
|
113,098
|
38.70%
|
164,136
|
56.17%
|
15,004
|
5.13%
|
1888
|
150,399
|
49.46%
|
152,004
|
49.99%
|
1,684
|
0.55%
|
1884
|
139,356
|
48.90%
|
145,491
|
51.05%
|
130
|
0.05%
|
1880
|
83,533
|
39.47%
|
128,083
|
60.53%
|
0
|
0.00%
|
1876
|
95,518
|
40.42%
|
140,770
|
59.58%
|
0
|
0.00%
|
1872
|
93,463
|
50.47%
|
91,647
|
49.49%
|
85
|
0.05%
|
1860
|
1,887
|
1.13%
|
16,198
|
9.71%
|
148,806
|
89.16%
|
1856
|
0
|
0.00%
|
90,083
|
59.96%
|
60,150
|
40.04%
|
1852
|
58,732
|
44.29%
|
73,872
|
55.71%
|
0
|
0.00%
|
1848
|
45,265
|
49.20%
|
46,739
|
50.80%
|
0
|
0.00%
|
1844
|
44,860
|
46.95%
|
50,679
|
53.05%
|
0
|
0.00%
|
1840
|
42,637
|
49.35%
|
43,757
|
50.65%
|
0
|
0.00%
|
1836
|
23,384
|
43.35%
|
30,556
|
56.64%
|
5
|
0.01%
|
After the
American Civil War
(1861?1865), Virginia was in political turmoil. 48 former counties now in
West Virginia
were gone, soon to be joined by two more. The Commonwealth of Virginia unsuccessfully appealed to the
U.S. Supreme Court
. In the remaining area, many citizens, mostly males of
African American
heritage, were newly enfranchised to vote. Many others, primarily former Confederates, were initially disenfranchised.
Elections resumed after 5 years as a U.S. Military District, and control was chaotic. In the late 1870s, a coalition of Conservative Democrats, Republicans, and African Americans was assembled and the
Readjuster Party
took power for about 10 years. After U.S. Senator
William Mahone
and the
Readjuster Party
lost control of Virginia politics around 1883, white Democrats regained the state legislature. They proceeded to use statute and a new constitution in 1901, with provisions such as a poll tax, residency requirements, and
literacy test
to disfranchise most African Americans and many poor whites. Their disfranchisement lasted until after the passage of civil rights legislation in the mid-1960s.
White Democrats created a one-party state, with a nearly unchallenged majority of state and most federal offices through the middle of the 20th century. The
Byrd Organization
headed by
Harry F. Byrd Sr.
largely controlled statewide politics. Through their leadership and activism in the Civil Rights Movement, African Americans gained national support for passage of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964
and the
Voting Rights Act of 1965
, which provided Federal oversight and enforcement to maintain all citizens' ability to vote. Under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, decisions affecting elections are subject to preclearance by the U.S. Department of Justice before they can take effect.
President Lyndon Johnson's and national Democrats' support for civil rights turned many conservative whites in Virginia against the Democrats. However, many Virginians had been willing to support Republicans, at least at the national level, since the 1930s due to
Franklin Roosevelt
's strong support for organized labor. While the Republican Party in most of the South tended to attract right-wing conservatives like
Jesse Helms
and
Strom Thurmond
, Virginia's GOP has tended to be more moderate by regional standards. The state elected moderate
Republican
A. Linwood Holton Jr.
in 1970; Holton became the first Republican governor in the 20th century, effectively ending the influence of the Byrd Organization. The current
Virginia State Constitution
was created in 1971 to replace the discriminatory one created in 1901. Holton was succeeded by two other Republican governors: the more conservative
Mills Godwin
(a former Democrat) and
John N. Dalton
. Five-term U.S. Senator
John Warner
and Congressman
Tom Davis
also exemplified the more "moderate-conservative" tendencies of Virginia Republicans. From 1982 through 1994, Democrats served as governor, with
Chuck Robb
elected in 1981 and
Gerald L. Baliles
in 1985. In 1989, Virginia elected Democrat
Douglas Wilder
governor, who served from 1990 to 1994, as Virginia's first African-American governor. In 2001, Virginia elected Democrats
Mark Warner
as governor and
Tim Kaine
as lieutenant governor, and Kaine was elected to succeed Warner as governor in 2005. In 2009, however, a Republican again returned to the governor's mansion as
Bob McDonnell
defeated Democrat Creigh Deeds, garnering 58.61% of the popular vote to Deeds' 41.25%. Republicans also managed to sweep all statewide races in 2009, the first time they accomplished this feat since 1997.
Virginia voted for Republicans in nearly every presidential election from 1952 to 2004 except for the Democratic landslide in President Johnson's election in
1964
. This former streak started when
Richard Nixon
began the
Southern Strategy
, and is the longest among the former
Confederate States
. Virginia was the only such state to vote for
Gerald Ford
over
Jimmy Carter
in
1976
. Since 2008, Virginia has voted for Democrats in presidential elections, including
Barack Obama
; in 2016, Virginia was the only former Confederate state to vote for
Hillary Clinton
over
Donald Trump
.
Recent events
[
edit
]
Barack Obama
campaigns in
Virginia Beach
. In his 2008 win, Virginia voted for a Democrat for the first time in ten Presidential elections.
In 1989,
Doug Wilder
was the first African-American elected
governor
of a
U.S. state
. Despite Virginia's support of Republican presidential candidates and reputation as a conservative state, voters elected Democratic candidates for three consecutive gubernatorial races in the 1980s. In addition, Democratic representatives maintained large majorities in both houses of the
Virginia General Assembly
. Many Democratic state representatives from rural and suburban districts had conservative stances on various issues.
In the 1990s Virginia experienced some political realignment, electing conservative Republicans
George Allen
and
Jim Gilmore
to the governorship from 1994 until 2002.
Jim Gilmore
's "
no car tax
" pledge was emblazoned on
bumper stickers
and yard signs across the state. Republicans captured both houses of the General Assembly and built majorities. Republican representatives replaced Conservative and moderate Democrats from rural and suburban areas. Within the Republican party, more conservative officeholders supplanted the remnants of the less conservative "mountain-valley" faction of Holton, so named because many members were from the Shenandoah Valley and Southwest Virginia.
After eight years of Republican governorships, in 2001,
Mark Warner
, a progressive businessman, won the governorship and confronted budget difficulties related to the recession by cutting money from all state departments. Virginia's executive branch is limited by the fact that governors are barred from serving consecutive terms, a constitutional provision that distinguishes Virginia from any other state. After decades of Democratic rule in the
Virginia General Assembly
,
Republicans
took control around the turn of the 21st century and promptly
redistricted
to protect their incumbents. In 2005
Tim Kaine
, Warner's
lieutenant governor
, won the governor's office over
Jerry Kilgore
and "independent Republican" state senator
Russ Potts
.
In 2006,
Jim Webb
narrowly defeated George Allen in the wake of the
Macaca slur incident
. The electorate's reaction to Allen's
gaffe
demonstrated the changing sensibilities of the region's citizens; prior to that, Allen had a double-digit lead in the polls.
[10]
In 2007, Virginia driver fees legislation created a political uproar when residents realized that they faced $3,000 fines for certain
moving violations
. An online petition quickly gathered hundreds of thousands of signatures, spurring legislators up for re-election that November to reconsider their positions. This was the first time that the Internet played such a dramatic role in influencing Virginia politics.
[11]
In 2007, the Democrats regained control of the State Senate, and narrowed the Republican majority in the House of delegates to 7 or 8 votes.
[12]
Virginia voted for Democrat
Barack Obama
in 2008, after backing Republican candidates for the previous ten
presidential elections
.
[13]
Virginia may be considered a "
swing state
" for future presidential elections.
[14]
Its margin for Obama of 6.3% made it a close indicator of the national vote (a 7.2% Obama margin).
In the November 2009 general election Republican
Bob McDonnell
won the governorship by an 18% margin, while Republican lieutenant governor and Attorney General candidates
Bill Bolling
and
Ken Cuccinelli
also won their respective races.
[15]
They led statewide gains by the Republican party winning five additional seats in the
House of Delegates
.
[16]
In the November 2010 federal elections, Republicans picked up three U.S. House seats previously held by Democrats, and proceeded to hold eight of Virginia's eleven seats, compared to three for Democrats. In the November 2018 federal elections, Democrats picked up three U.S. House seats previously held by Republicans, and proceeded to hold seven of Virginia's eleven seats, compared to four for Republicans. From 1977 until November 2013, Virginia had elected a governor of the opposite political party compared to the current
President of the United States
of the time.
List of elections and turnout
[
edit
]
The following table lists all state and federal regular elections from 1976, along with the voter turnout.
[17]
Year
|
Registered
|
Percentage change from previous year
|
Total voting
|
Turnout (% voting of total registered)
|
Voting absentee (included in total voting)
|
Elections
|
2021
|
|
|
|
|
|
State
:
Governor
,
Lieutenant Governor
,
Attorney General
,
House
|
2020
|
5,975,696
|
6.18%
|
4,486,821
|
75.08%
|
2,687,304
|
Federal
:
President
,
Senator (II)
,
House
|
2019
|
5,628,035
|
-1.0%
|
2,383,646
|
42.4%
|
144,360
|
State
:
Senate
,
House
|
2018
|
5,666,962
|
3.31%
|
3,374,382
|
59.5%
|
287,763
|
Federal
:
Senator (I)
,
House
|
2017
|
5,489,530
|
-0.73%
|
2,612,309
|
47.6%
|
182,256
|
State
:
Governor
,
Lieutenant Governor
,
Attorney General
,
House
|
2016
|
5,529,742
|
6.41%
|
3,984,631
|
72.05%
|
496,452
|
Federal
:
President
,
House
|
2015
|
5,196,436
|
-1.60%
|
1,509,864
|
29.1%
|
62,605
|
State
: Senate,
House
|
2014
|
5,281,011
|
0.78%
|
2,194,346
|
41.6%
|
123,221
|
Federal:
Senator (II)
,
House
|
2013
|
5,240,286
|
-3.5%
|
2,253,418
|
43.0%
|
121,359
|
State
:
Governor
,
Lieutenant Governor
,
Attorney General
,
House
|
2012
|
5,428,833
|
6.1%
|
3,858,043
|
71.06%
|
447,907
|
Federal:
President
,
Senator (I)
,
House
|
2011
|
5,116,929
|
1.68%
|
1,463,761
|
28.61%
|
59,519
|
State
: Senate,
House
|
2010
|
5,032,144
|
1.54%
|
2,214,503
|
44.01%
|
106,888
|
Federal
:
House
|
2009
|
4,955,750
|
-1.57%
|
2,000,812
|
40.4%
|
88,182
|
State
:
Governor
, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General,
House
|
2008
|
5,034,660
|
10.7%
|
3,723,260
|
74.0%
|
506,672
|
Federal
:
President
,
Senator (II)
,
House
|
2007
|
4,549,864
|
- 0.1%
|
1,374,526
|
30.2%
|
30,619
|
State
: Senate,
House
|
2006
|
4,554,683
|
2.3%
|
2,398,589
|
52.7%
|
116,629
|
Federal:
Senator (I)
,
House
|
2005
|
4,452,225
|
- 1.5%
|
2,000,052
|
44.92%
|
75,982
|
State:
Governor
, Lieutenant Governor,
Attorney General
,
House
|
2004
|
4,517,980
|
7.1%
|
3,198,367
|
70.79%
|
222,059
|
Federal:
President
,
House
|
2003
|
4,217,227
|
- 0.1%
|
1,296,955
|
30.8%
|
35,716
|
State
: Senate,
House
|
2002
|
4,219,957
|
2.7%
|
1,331,915
|
31.56%
|
44,493
|
Federal:
Senator (II)
,
House
|
2001
|
4,109,127
|
0.9%
|
1,905,511
|
46.4%
|
52,344
|
State:
Governor
,
Lieutenant Governor
, Attorney General,
House
|
2000
|
4,073,644
|
7.0%
|
2,739,447
|
67.2%
|
150,414
|
Federal:
President
,
Senator (I)
,
House
|
1999
|
3,808,754
|
2.3%
|
1,373,527
|
36.1%
|
10,686
|
State
:
Senate
,
House
|
1998
|
3,724,683
|
4.5%
|
1,229,139
|
33.0%
|
31,494
|
Federal:
House
|
1997
|
3,565,697
|
7.3%
|
1,764,476
|
49.5%
|
47,571
|
State:
Governor
, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General,
House
|
1996 *
|
3,322,740
|
9.4%
|
2,416,642
|
72.7%
|
116,606
|
Federal:
President
,
Senator (II)
,
House
|
1995
|
3,038,394
|
1.3%
|
1,585,783
|
52.2%
|
45,785
|
State:
Senate
,
House
|
1994
|
3,000,560
|
0.9%
|
2,078,106
|
69.3%
|
81,636
|
Federal:
Senator (I)
,
House
|
1993
|
2,975,121
|
-2.6% *
|
1,817,777
|
61.1%
|
53,904
|
State:
Governor
, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General,
House
|
1992
|
3,055,486
|
9.4%
|
2,558,665
|
83.7%
|
141,123
|
Federal:
President
,
House
|
1991
|
2,791,747
|
2.1%
|
1,371,940
|
49.1%
|
unreported
|
State: Senate,
House
|
1990
|
2,735,339
|
-0.1%
|
1,252,971
|
45.8%
|
25,785
|
Federal:
Senator (II)
,
House
|
1989
|
2,737,340
|
-4.9% *
|
1,821,242
|
66.5%
|
54,177
|
State
:
Governor
, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General,
House
|
1988
|
2,877,144
|
8.3%
|
2,231,876
|
77.6%
|
108,237
|
Federal:
President
,
Senator (I)
,
House
|
1987
|
2,657,412
|
1.8%
|
1,571,110
|
59.1%
|
38,505
|
State:
Senate
,
House
|
1986
|
2,609,698
|
0.5%
|
1,115,179
|
42.7%
|
22,589
|
Federal:
House
|
1985
|
2,597,904
|
-2.9% *
|
1,377,966
|
53.0%
|
32,943
|
State:
Governor
, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General,
House
|
1984
|
2,675,641
|
14.8%
|
2,180,515
|
81.5%
|
113,686
|
Federal:
President
,
Senator (II)
,
House
|
1983
|
2,330,595
|
4.3%
|
1,178,707
|
50.6%
|
unreported
|
State: Senate, House
|
1982
|
2,234,011
|
0.9%
|
1,454,628
|
65.1%
|
32,340
|
Federal:
Senator (I)
,
House
State: House
|
1981
|
2,214,926
|
-4.1% *
|
1,437,382
|
64.90%
|
30,584
|
State:
Governor
, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General,
House
|
1980
|
2,309,181
|
12.6%
|
1,881,648
|
81.49%
|
84,811
|
Federal:
President
,
House
|
1979
|
2,050,499
|
1.2%
|
1,059,158
|
51.65%
|
unreported
|
State: Senate, House
|
1978
|
2,026,515
|
0.2%
|
1,251,471
|
61.75%
|
26,989
|
Federal:
Senator (II)
,
House
|
1977
|
2,022,619
|
-4.8% *
|
1,267,208
|
62.7%
|
29,970
|
State:
Governor
, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, House
|
1976
|
2,123,849
|
|
1,716,182
|
80.8%
|
unreported
|
Federal:
President
,
Senator (I)
,
House
|
- The
National Voter Registration Act of 1993
("Motor Voter Act") was implemented in Virginia beginning in March 1996. This Act allowed voter registration forms to be submitted through
Department of Motor Vehicles
offices and other designated agencies, or to be submitted by mail. Also, prior to this, any Virginia voter who had not voted in four years was removed ("purged") from the electoral rolls.
Regional differences
[
edit
]
2006 Senatorial election
majority results by county, with George Allen in red and Jim Webb in blue.
Northern Virginia
has favored Democratic candidates in recent elections. In the
2004 United States presidential election
,
John Kerry
won Fairfax County, long a Republican stronghold, by 2.4% and generally fared better in the rest of Northern Virginia than
Al Gore
did in 2000. Despite this increase, however, he still lost every other county except
Arlington County
in Northern Virginia. In contrast to the changing voting trend in Northern Virginia, the majority of the rest of Virginia has been supportive of the Republican Party. Some portions of the state like college towns and the southeastern counties in the
Black Belt Region
have been more likely to vote Democratic.
In 2005 and 2006, Democrats Tim Kaine (running for governor) and
Jim Webb
(in a race for Senator) won nearly all jurisdictions within the Northern Virginia region. Alexandria resident
Mark Warner
had not won so many jurisdictions when winning the governorship in 2001. By contrast, Warner performed comparatively strongly in rural areas, particularly Southwest Virginia. His campaign stressed respect for rural cultural values (such as
gun rights
) and strategies for economic development.
In the state's largest city, Virginia Beach (pop. 450,000), most elected officials are Republicans. However, most elected officials in the state's most populous county, Fairfax County (pop. 1,250,000), are Democrats. The Republican Party's strongholds are in the counties of
Southwest Virginia
,
exurban
Northern Virginia counties like
Stafford
, and Richmond suburbs like
Hanover County
. Democrats are dominant in the inner suburbs of
Northern Virginia
, the city of
Charlottesville
and its suburbs in
Albemarle County
, and industrial Hampton Roads cities of
Norfolk
,
Portsmouth
,
Newport News
, and
Hampton
, and also the city of
Richmond
. The three most significant "swing districts" are
Loudoun
and
Prince William
counties in Northern Virginia and
Henrico County
in the Richmond suburbs. All three of these "swing" counties voted for President
George W. Bush
in 2000 and 2004,
Barack Obama
in 2008
[18]
and 2012, and
Hillary Clinton
in 2016.
[19]
Democrats have won formerly Republican-held seats in the General Assembly in Loudoun and Prince William counties in the 2017 and 2019 elections.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
J. Pomante II, Michael; Li, Quan (December 15, 2020).
"Cost of Voting in the American States: 2020"
.
Election Law Journal: Rules, Politics, and Policy
.
19
(4): 503?509.
doi
:
10.1089/elj.2020.0666
.
S2CID
225139517
.
- ^
Va. Code § 24.2-613
- ^
http://www.southernstudies.org/2009/01/voting-rights-virginia-governor-pushes-for-no-excuse-early-voting.html
Archived
September 27, 2011, at the
Wayback Machine
Retrieved February 8, 2009.
- ^
Walker, Julian (January 26, 2009).
"Virginia Senate approves no-excuse absentee voting"
.
Virginia Pilot
. Retrieved
February 8,
2009
.
- ^
Craig, Tim (June 17, 2008).
"Groups Push to Restore Va. Felons' Voting Rights"
.
Washington Post
. p. B01
. Retrieved
February 8,
2009
.
- ^
Constitution of Virginia, Article 4
, specifies election of legislators
- ^
Constitution of Virginia, Article 5
, specifies election of statewide executives
- ^
Constitution of Virginia, Article 7
, specifies election of local officials
- ^
a
b
Leip, David.
"General Election Results ? Virginia"
.
Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections
. Retrieved
November 18,
2016
.
- ^
"Allen's Listening Tour"
.
YouTube
. August 14, 2006
. Retrieved
August 15,
2006
.
- ^
Va. Driver Fees Now Election Weapon
, Tim Craig,
The Washington Post
, July 17, 2007.
- ^
"Kaine Hails 'Balance' in New Political Landscape"
.
www.washingtonpost.com
. November 8, 2007
. Retrieved
November 7,
2007
.
- ^
Lewis, Bob (November 5, 2008).
"Obama first Democrat to take Virginia in 44 years"
.
Fox News
.
Associated Press
. Archived from
the original
on May 10, 2011
. Retrieved
January 9,
2009
.
- ^
Balz, Dan (October 12, 2007).
"Painting America Purple"
.
The Washington Post
. Archived from
the original
on May 23, 2011
. Retrieved
November 24,
2007
.
- ^
Whiting, Tyler (November 4, 2009).
"McDonnell leads GOP sweep of statewide races"
.
Richmond Times-Dispatch
. Archived from
the original
on November 7, 2009
. Retrieved
November 13,
2009
.
- ^
Cain, Andrew (November 5, 2009).
"GOP gains at least five Virginia House seats"
.
Richmond Times-Dispatch
. Archived from
the original
on November 8, 2009
. Retrieved
November 13,
2009
.
- ^
Registration/Turnout Statistics
Archived
October 18, 2018, at the
Wayback Machine
, Virginia Departement of Elections
- ^
"Virginia: Presidential County Results - Election Results 2008 - the New York Times"
.
The New York Times
.
- ^
"Virginia Election Results 2016: President Live Map by County, Real-Time Voting Updates"
.
Politico
.
External links
[
edit
]
- Virginia
at
Ballotpedia
- Government Documents Round Table
of the American Library Association,
"Virginia"
,
Voting & Elections Toolkits
- "Virginia: Election Tools, Deadlines, Dates, Rules, and Links"
,
Vote.org
, Oakland, CA
- "League of Women Voters of Virginia"
.
(State affiliate of the U.S.
League of Women Voters
)
- "State Elections Legislation Database"
,
Ncsl.org
, Washington, D.C.:
National Conference of State Legislatures
,
State legislation related to the administration of elections introduced in 2011 through this year, 2020