The Virginia Presidential Primary is on March 5th but early in person voting is underway through Saturday March 2nd. I received an email reminder from the county this morning that early in person voting is in progress so after breakfast I drove the 10 minutes to one of the 3 voting locations in the county and cast my ballot.
I spent the the last 13 years in California where I participated as an elections officer. I was very impressed with the state and county election process there. I moved (back) to Virginia in June of 2023 and I participated as an elections officer in the November 2023 elections here. Having been involved in both states voting processes, I can state with confidence that the California system is significantly better in terms of providing access and information to the public. There are a number of advantages to the California voting system but let me just highlight two of them.
1) Mail in ballots — In California, all registered voters get a mail-in ballot along with a sample ballot pamphlet. You can still vote in person (early or on election day) if you prefer, or you can use the mail-in ballot to vote by mail, using the US postal service or the drop boxes provided by the county. You can even drop your vote by mail ballot and envelope at an early or same day voting location.
In Virginia, if you want to vote by mail you have to request a vote by mail ballot in advance.
2) Voting guides — In California, all registered voters get a comprehensive voting information guide. This guide has a wealth of information related to the election such as information on candidates, ballot initiatives, your voting rights, polling places, how to track your ballot, etc., etc.
I have yet to see something like this in VA.
Now this is not to knock the Virginia voting system; it’s just that the California system should be a standard that other states should follow. If you provide better access and information, people make better choices.
The people that I worked with here in Virginia were extremely knowledgeable and motivated and although the process it is clearly not as robust as the CA system, it is pretty good and I’m confident in it after having participated in it.
If you live in Virginia make you vote in the presidential primary by March 5th or before and in the congressional primary by June18th and of course the big one on November 5th.
