Some Virginia Beach voters will cast ballots in two special elections starting this week.
On Friday, voting starts in the March 17 special election to fill the 98th House District seat following the death of longtime Del. Barry Knight and the April 21 special election for the proposed constitutional amendment on redistricting.
The new Virginia Beach Voter Registration & Elections office at 500 Studio Drive is open in time for both, including for early in-person voting.
The office relocated from the municipal center to a larger space. Studio Drive is off Independence Boulevard near Mount Trashmore.
Christine Lewis, Virginia Beach’s director of elections, said the new office will help with curbside voting, dropping off ballots and in-person voting.
“Both elections, since they're happening at the same time, you’ll have two different check-in stations,” Lewis said. “So if you’re eligible to vote in both elections, you can check into one station, vote your ballot, cast it and then go to the next station, vote your ballot and cast it.”
In the 98th District election, Democrat Cheryl Smith, a retired teacher who challenged Knight last year, faces Republican Andrew Rice, a deputy commonwealth’s attorney. The district includes southern Virginia Beach.
The office on Studio Drive will be open on Saturday and March 14 for voters in the district. People can also vote in the referendum. Lewis said voting on March 7 and March 14 is also open to referendum voters who are not in the 98th District.
The statewide referendum applies to all city voters.
Satellite voting for the referendum is available from Monday through Saturday, April 11-18, at Great Neck Recreation Center and Seatack Recreation Center.
There are different registration deadlines for the elections. Registration for the 98th District election is March 10. The registration deadline for the referendum is April 14.
In the 98th District election, the vote-by-mail application deadline is Friday by 5 p.m.
Information, including voting hours, is available at the Voter Registration & Elections Office’s website and the city recently released a statement about the elections on the city site.
