Governor Endorses Romney as Absentee Voting Starts in GOP Primary

The Richmond Times Dispatch reported this morning that Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell has endorsed Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney as absentee voting begins  (today) in the state’s Republican presidential primary.

McDonnell made the endorsement a day ahead of the South Carolina primary, The Times Dispatch reported. McDonnell recently campaigned for Romney in South Carolina.

"My message will be if you want to win the race in November, vote for Mitt Romney," McDonnell said on CNBC's "Squawkbox," the Times Dispatch reported.

Earlier this week, election officers around Virginia weren’t 100 percent sure which names would appear on the  GOP primary ballot. But by Tuesday afternoon, they could finally order printed ballots, after a federal court denied an appeal by Texas Gov. Rick Perry to get on the ballot.

“The printed ballots got here today,” Fairfax County’s chief election official, , said Wednesday, of the 192,000 ballots she ordered late Tuesday afternoon after the judge’s ruling. “We have a good printer. I think they shipped them back to us in less than 24 hours.”

The only candidates’ names Virginians will see on the GOP presidential primary ballot are those of former Massachusetts Gov. and Texas Congressman .  Perry, who dropped out of the presidential race Thursday, along with former Speaker , former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, who dropped out Monday, didn’t meet the requirements to appear on Virginia’s ballot.

Supporter of a candidate who didn’t make the ballot? Don’t get any ideas. “You can write in on a general election ballot,” Quinn said, “but not a primary ballot.”

Who can vote absentee?

There are several ways you can qualify to vote absentee. Qualifying reasons include:

• You commute and work for 11 of the 13 hours the polls are open. (Take into account those days when traffic is heavy or the weather is bad and it takes longer than usual to get to and from work.)
• You are a caregiver for a confined family member.
• You are unable to go to the polls in person on Election Day because of an illness or disability.
• You will be absent from your city or county on Election Day because of personal business, work, school, or vacation.

Deadline for mailed or faxed absentee ballot applications to be received by the Voter Registration Office

Deadline for absentee ballot to be received by the Office of Voter Registration. The ballot may be mailed or dropped off in person (an absentee ballot dropped off must be delivered personally by the voter).

132 North Royal Street, Suite 100, Alexandria

Weekdays          8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (closed Feb. 20)

In-person absentee voting in Fairfax County:

Fairfax County Government Center, 12000 Government Center Parkway, Suite 323, Fairfax

Weekdays

8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Thursdays 'til 7 p.m. (closed Feb. 20)

Deadline to register to vote

Feb. 13

Loyalty Oath

“We have not gotten official word,” Quinn said Wednesday. The vote of the state Republican central committee won’t occur until Saturday but the state elections board has told localities not to mail out the oath with ballots, she said. “We have every reason to believe the Republican Party is going to rescind the loyalty oath.” 

The Fairfax County Office of Elections is still recruiting for people to work at the polls on March 6. "Frankly if we don’t get enough, we're going to put Democrats in if there are not enough Republicans," Quinn said. "Even for Democratic primaries, this issue has come up and we've had to use some Republicans as well."

Not sure whether you're registered? You can verify your registration by visiting the Virginia State Board of Elections.

For more information on absentee voting, visit the Fairfax County Office of Elections here or the City of Alexandria Voter Registration & Elections office here.