PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) – All 40 seats of the Virginia Senate and 100 seats in the Virginia House of Delegates will be up for election on November 7, 2023. There are also quite a few contested local races and some special elections are taking place on this date.

10 On Your Side has compiled this voter guide to answer many of the questions you may have about the upcoming general election.

We reached out to the candidates running in this election, with a request for a bio and a list of questions to answer. If we received a reply from the candidate, it will be available at this link:

Area public schools will be closed Tuesday for Election Day and some city services will not be available. Click here for a complete list.

Register to vote or apply for an absentee ballot online using the Virginia Department of Elections Citizen Portal.

See who is on your ballot by viewing the candidate lists.

There are new legislative districts updated with the 2020 U.S. Census data.

Election Day Voting

On Election Day, polls in Virginia are open from 6 a.m. until 7 p.m. for in-person voting.

In North Carolina, polls are open from 6:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m.

Highlighted Local Races

There are quite a few School Board, Board of Supervisors, Commissioner of Revenue, Commonwealth’s Attorney and other local level contested races this November. Below are a few:

Chesapeake

Chesapeake voters will be selecting a new Treasurer in a Special Election, following the retirement of the city’s longtime Treasurer Barbara Carraway over the summer. Carraway was first elected Treasurer in 1990. Dawn Ashby Quick and Benton M. “Ben” White, Jr are running in this special election.

Sheriff Races

The following Virginia Sheriff’s Offices in our region have contested races for sheriff: Mathews County, York-Poquoson, Southampton County and Surry County

Williamsburg/James City County School Board

WAVY has been covering the possible separation of the Williamsburg James City County Public Schools partnership. City Council recently voted, unanimously, to spend $135,000 to investigate the feasibility of a school operations split. Results from the feasibility study are anticipated by early January.

So, when voters make their choice for the new school board members, this will likely be a hot topic.

Gloucester Referendum

There are also a handful referendums in the November election, including locally, in Gloucester County. That referendum titled “Capital Improvement Bonds” asks:

Shall the County of Gloucester contract a debt through general obligation capital improvement bonds in the maximum amount of $39,582,993 which would result in an estimated increase in the real estate tax rate of $0.02/$100 of assessed valuation, to provide funds to finance various capital improvement projects for (1) volunteer fire and rescue departments to include construction of a new fire department for Gloucester Volunteer Fire & Rescue and renovations to the bunk room at Abingdon Volunteer Fire & Rescue; (2) construction, improvement, and/or renovation of public school buildings and facilities to include renovations of Botetourt Elementary School, renovation of the Gloucester High School sports complex and associated site improvements, and school HVAC systems; and (3) parks and recreation to include Woodville Park water, sewer, lighting, bathrooms, construction of a community use building, and improvements at Gloucester Point Beach and Brown Park?

WAVY will have live results and team coverage of the General Election on November 7 and look for special political coverage leading up to Election Day on air and online.

Important Dates

First day of in-person early voting at your local registrar’s office: Friday, September 22, 2023.

Deadline to register to vote, or update an existing registration: October 16, 2023 (Voters may register after this date, through Election Day, and vote using a provisional ballot). The Constitution of Virginia requires that voters be registered in the precinct in which they live in order to be qualified to vote. 

Deadline to apply for a ballot to be mailed to you: October 27, 2023. Your request must be received by your local voter registration office by 5 p.m.

Voter registration offices open for early voting: Saturday, October 28, 2023.

The last day of in-person early voting at your local voter registration office: Saturday, November 4, 2023 at 5 p.m.