Virginia early voting begins Friday

Early voting begins Friday

Virginia begins early voting Friday for its general and special elections. The voting could determine the future of proposed constitutional amendments concerning abortion, same-sex marriage and felons.

The abortion proposal puts health care among the issues before voters. The other proposed amendments address separate questions involving same-sex marriage and felons. Voters can review each proposal individually before deciding how to vote on it.

These are constitutional proposals rather than candidate contests. That distinction matters when reviewing a ballot: amendment questions ask voters to choose whether they support or oppose a proposed change, rather than select a person for public office.

How to check your polling place

Voters should use the official polling-place lookup maintained by Virginia election officials. Enter the requested voter information, review the result and confirm the address listed for the place and time you plan to vote.

Check the listing before traveling rather than relying on a location used during an earlier election. Confirm that the result applies to the voting method and day you intend to use, because the start of early voting does not by itself identify where an individual voter should go.

Friday marks the beginning of the early-voting period, not the only opportunity to participate. Voters deciding among the proposed amendments should also read the exact ballot language presented with each question before casting a ballot.