Governor Ralph Northam on Friday invoked his statutory authority to postpone the May General and Special Elections by two weeks, from May 5, 2020 to May 19, 2020. 

Earlier this month, Northam recommended moving the May elections to November, which required action by the General Assembly. The House of Delegates approved the measure, but the Senate rejected his recommendation.

“Virginians should never have to choose between casting a ballot and risking their health,” said Northam. “I am grateful to the House of Delegates for taking action to move our upcoming elections, but unfortunately the Senate failed to make the same common sense decision. While we strongly encourage every Virginian who can vote by mail to do so, we will also take every necessary step to conduct these elections in a way that ensures in-person voting is done safely and responsibly.”

The Governor has directed the Department of Elections to provide the latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance to General Registrars on best practices to maintain social distancing and decontamination standards at polling locations. The Department of Elections recommends voters who choose to request an absentee ballot use the reason code for having a disability or an illness. Voters completing a paper application may use reason 2A, “my disability or illness” to complete their form. Voters completing an online application to request an absentee ballot will need to follow the prompts and select “I have a reason or condition that prevents me from going to the polls on Election Day.” They will then have the option to choose “my disability or illness” as the reason for their request.

Voters can request online that an absentee ballot be mailed to them by visiting elections.virginia.gov/voterinfo or by downloading and printing a request form at elections.virginia.gov/forms and returning the completed and signed form to their local General Registrar’s office by mail, fax, or scanned attachment to an email. Contact information for General Registrar offices can be found on the form. Forms are also available in Spanish, Vietnamese, and Korean.

“Elections are a critical function of our government,” said Attorney General Mark Herring. “We will do everything in our power to maintain the integrity of our democratic process while ensuring the safety of all Virginians.”

Only individuals who were eligible to vote on May 5, 2020 may participate in the elections on May 19, 2020, and no new candidates are eligible to participate in the postponed elections. The deadline to register to vote or update an existing registration for the May 5, 2020 elections has passed. The deadline does not change for the elections scheduled for May 19, 2020.

Local General Registrar offices must receive mailed-in requests for absentee ballots for the May 19, 2020 election by 5:00 PM on Tuesday, May 12, 2020. Voters are advised to apply immediately to account for any potential delays in mail delivery. Absentee ballots returned by mail must be received by the local General Registrar by 7:00 PM on Election Day, May 19, 2020.

Fifty-six localities across the Commonwealth have elections scheduled in May. Northam previously moved the June primary elections from June 9, 2020 to June 23, 2020.