If you are paying attention to the news at all, you are aware that the 2022 midterm elections are just a few weeks away. Whatever your political beliefs, this will be an important election.
NOTE: We say this about every election, and it is true about every election — but it is “more true” for this election.
Here are some things you need to be aware of as you prepare to vote in this election:
Depending on the state you live in, you have a variety of choices to make on November 8. In Virginia, the only national races are for our 11 seats in the House of Representatives. Across the country, every seat in the House is up for election this fall. If you haven’t had the opportunity to look at your options for these races, which will determine the party balance in the House of Representatives, this is a good time to begin to pay attention.
Virginia does not have a United States Senate race this year, but your state might. This map shows where Senate elections are happening. (The gray states have no Senate election this year). The current Senate is tied, with 50 Republicans and 50 Democrats. The results in these Senate races will determine the party balance in the Senate.
Most states are also having statewide races this year – for state legislatures and for state executives, including governor and lieutenant governor. Virginia holds these elections in odd-numbered years, so we will not see those choices on our ballots. The other states with “off-year” elections are Kentucky, New Jersey, Louisiana, and Mississippi. If you live in any of the other 47 states, you will see candidates for these state offices on your ballot. This is the time to check into these races.
In many states, local elections are also held at this time. This is true in Virginia for the first time, as the state legislature changed some laws regulating local elections. These elections used to be held in May, but were moved to November to coincide with national elections to increase voter turnout.
AND THINGS MAY HAVE CHANGED THIS YEAR. The redistricting process in all of the states subsequent to the 2020 census changed district boundaries all over the country. You may be in a different district than you were in the last election, and your voting location may have changed. This is the time to double-check who will be on the ballot you see when you go to the polls, and to verify where you go to vote. In addition, some states have changed voting laws in other ways. For example, Virginia approved a 45-day early voting period that took effect for the 2020 elections and is still in effect. Virginia also recently passed a law allowing for same-day voter registration, which is in effect for this election. This means that all throughout the early voting process and election day itself, voters who had not previously registered to vote can register and vote on the same day. The votes cast by same-day voters will be put in the “provisional” stack, to be counted after election day once the registration is validated.
If you want to find out more about voting in your state and community, one good source is Ballotpedia https://ballotpedia.org/. This website summarizes election information from all over the country. If you want to know more about what’s happening in your state or locality, you can google terms like “elections” and your state or county name. With a bit of filtering, you should be able to find the websites maintained by your state or county election offices.
Thanks, Karen! This is really important information everyone needs to see and understand. Well done.