Virginia opens early in-person voting for 2026 US midterms

Virginia has begun early in-person voting for the 2026 United States midterm elections, making it one of the first states in the country to allow voters to cast ballots ahead of Election Day. The start on Friday comes as the state joins a broader national shift toward voting before November 3. The contest is expected to help determine control of the House and Senate for the rest of President Donald Trump's term.

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Officials and voters described the opening day as a milestone in the election calendar, with college student Sanya Singhal among the first to vote early in person in Virginia. She said she wanted to take part in democracy and joked about being first in line. The row also says Virginia has expanded weekend early voting and removed its absentee witness requirement.

Mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day may now arrive by noon three days later. The move comes against the backdrop of a long expansion in early voting across the United States. The number of states offering some form of voting before Election Day has risen from 24 in 2000 to 47 in 2026, plus Washington, DC.

Procedures still vary widely by state, including eligibility rules, voting locations and deadlines. In some states, such as Minnesota and South Dakota, voters can cast absentee ballots in person at election offices or voting centres. Mail voting is especially significant in this election cycle because it has become part of a wider legal and political dispute.

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The row says the Trump administration has brought multiple legal challenges seeking to restrict its use. In June, the Supreme Court ruled that federal law does not override state laws allowing certain postmarked absentee ballots to arrive after Election Day, leaving state deadlines in place. A separate ruling this week blocked President Donald Trump's attempt to impose new federal restrictions on mail voting.

Those proposed federal changes included standardised ballot envelopes and a federal system for verifying voter eligibility. The Postal Service has advised voters using mail ballots to send them earlier rather than later. North Carolina began mailing absentee ballots on September 4 to voters who requested them, and more expansive early voting is scheduled to begin in other states in the coming weeks.

Virginia's changes therefore sit within a wider, state-by-state opening of the 2026 midterm race. What remains unclear is how turnout will compare with previous cycles and how voters will use the different early and mail voting options now available. The next major watchpoint is whether other states follow with their own early voting deadlines and rule changes as the campaign advances.

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