Elections and Voter Registration

Office and Satellite Closed Monday October 12

The Office of the General Registrar and the In-Person Absentee/Early Voting Satellite office at the Goochland Sports Complex will be closed Monday, October 12, in observance of Columbus Day.

Next Electoral Board Meetings 

All Meetings will be held at the Goochland County Office of the General Registrar 1876 Sandy Hook Rd, Goochland, VA 23063 unless noted. 

October 13, 2020 - 6pm- Conference Room- After meeting, the Electoral Board and General Registrar will perform the Final Testing of Voting Machines.

August 11, 2020 Minutes for approval

The minutes from each meeting will be archived here after approval at the following meeting

Track Your Ballot

You can track your ballot using the Ballot Scout Lookup Tool: https://ballotscout.org/partners/595410ba-a9e2-4da8-a601-0412562a50ab/search

Voting Absentee In-Person

In-Person Absentee Voting will be available at the Parks and Recreation Building at 1800 Sandy Hook Road, Goochland, VA 23063 during normal office hours on weekdays beginning Friday, September 18 and continuing until Friday, October 30. The office will also be open for Absentee Voting on Saturday, October 24 and Saturday, October 31 from 9am until 5pm.

Absentee Voting, Early Voting and Vote by Mail...

You may be hearing these words being thrown around in the news and on social media. In Virginia they all mean the same thing.

Beginning July 1, 2020 any registered voter can vote absentee without having to provide any reason or supporting information!

Due to the Covid-19 outbreak, the Virginia Department of Elections as well as the Goochland County Registrar’s Office encourage all voters to protect their health and the health of others by voting from home. 

Every voter that votes absentee is one less voter in line on Election Day, limiting the risk of spreading the virus within the community and protecting those that serve as Officers of Election at the polls.

Voting Absentee by Mail

Ballots for the November 3, 2020 November General Election will be available Friday, September 18, but you can request them right now! The last day to request an Absentee Ballot to be sent to you is Friday, October 23.

Applications can be returned in person at the Office of the General Registrar located at 1876 Sandy Hook Rd, Goochland, VA 23063, by mail to the General Registrar at PO Box 1013, Goochland, VA 23063, by fax to 804-556-6323 or by email to vote@goochlandva.us. 

You can also apply for an Absentee Ballot online. 

Returning your ballot

Your voted ballot can be returned by mail to PO Box 1013, Goochland, VA, 23063. 

Ballots can also be returned during normal business hours to a drop off location at the Office of the General Registrar 1876 Sandy Hook Rd, Goochland, VA 23063 or at the Voter Satellite Office at the Goochland County Sports Complex 1800 Sandy Hook Rd, Goochland, VA 23063. 

The Sports Complex drop off location will also be available on Saturday October 24 and Saturday, October 31 from 9am - 5pm. 

Drop off locations will also be available at our polling places on Election Day. Please visit the our District Information page for a list of those addresses.


Voter Registration 

To be eligible to register to vote in Virginia a person must: 

  • Be a resident of Virginia (a person who has come to Virginia for temporary purposes and intends to return to another state is not considered a resident for voting purposes).
  • Be a U.S. Citizen.
  • Be 18 years old (any person who is 17 years old and will be 18 years of age at the next general election shall be permitted to register in advance and also vote in any intervening primary or special election).
  • Not be registered and plan to vote in another state.
  • Not currently declared mentally incompetent by a court of law.
  • If convicted of a felony, your right to vote must have been restored.

Apply to register to vote or update your current registration online here. 

Or you can download and print the Virginia Voter Registration Application here. Your completed application may be submitted by mail or brought to our Voter Registration Office. 

NOVEMBER 3, 2020 ABSENT UNIFORMED-SERVICE AND OVERSEAS CITIZENS ELIGIBLE TO USE THE FEDERAL WRITE-IN ABSENTEE BALLOT (FWAB) 

This is an official notice of the General Election to be conducted in the Commonwealth of Virginia on November 3, 2020. If you are an absent military or overseas citizen eligible to vote in state and local elections, you may register to vote and submit an absentee ballot application electronically for a specific election or any elections up through the next year using the Department of Elections voter registration portal.  Please note that a driver’s license or identification card issued by the Virginia DMV is required to complete the process paperlessly.  If you do not have a DMV-issued ID, you may also apply by using the federal postcard application (FPCA), available at  www.fvap.gov. You can submit your FPCA by scanned email attachment to  info@elections.virginia.gov or via fax to (804) 371-0194. Detailed instructions are provided in the Virginia Voting Assistance Guide. FPCA’s are valid for all elections in the calendar year in which they are submitted and must be renewed annually.

If you do not receive your state ballot in time, you may vote using a Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB), available at www.fvap.gov. You can identify all of the state, local offices and, if applicable, ballot measures that, as of this date, are expected to be on the ballot by visiting the Candidate Lists and visit ELECT's Citizen Portal to view your voter registration status.


Election Day!

The November General Election will be held November 3, 2020 in Goochland County. All Precincts will be open from 6am to 7pm. If you are in line at 7pm you will be allowed to vote. Here are some helpful hints to make sure things go smoothly and quickly:

Check your voter registration. You can check the status of your voter registration using the citizen portal at the Department of Elections website here: https://www.elections.virginia.gov/citizen-portal/. Make sure you are registered at the correct address and with the correct name. Any confusion can make it difficult to find your name on the Poll Book and lead to delays.

Know where you vote. You can check where you vote using the citizen portal at the Department of Elections website here: https://www.elections.virginia.gov/citizen-portal/. You have to vote at your designated polling place. If you go to the wrong polling place you will be directed to the correct polling place which will lead to delays.

Know what is on the ballot. Do not let there be any surprises at the Polls on Election Day. You can view a sample ballot on our Election Information and Sample Ballot page here. Knowing who you are going to vote for will allow you to mark your ballot quickly and be on your way.

Know how to mark a ballot. Simply fill in the bubble next to the candidate of your choice. Making any other mark, such as an x or check may result in the machine not reading your mark and your vote not being counted.

Bring ID. Some form of identification is required to vote in Virginia. Here is the list of approved forms of ID: 

  • voter confirmation documents
  • valid Virginia driver’s license 
  • valid United States passport, or any other identification issued by the Commonwealth, one of its political subdivisions, or the United States
  • any valid student identification card issued by any institution of higher education located in the Commonwealth or any private school located in the Commonwealth 
  • any valid student identification card issued by any institution of higher education located in any other state or territory of the United States
  • 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’s business
  • a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document containing the name and address of the voter

Become an Election Officer

To become an Election Officer one must:

  • Be registered to vote in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
  • Be 18 years of age. 
  • Be willing to start work at 5:00 AM and stay until the precinct is closed and cleaned up (usually about 8:30 PM).
  • You will receive a stipend for you day of volunteer service.

 If you are interested in becoming an Election Officer for Goochland County, please apply here.  We will be in contact shortly.