Goochland County sets early voting dates, absentee ballot details for primary

Goochland County voters who want to cast a ballot before the Aug. 4 primary will need to go to the Registrar’s Office at 1876 Sandy Hook Road in Goochland, where early voting will open Thursday, June 18, and run through Friday, July 31. Standard weekday hours will be 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with added hours set for Sunday, July 19 from noon to 5 p.m., Saturday, July 25 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday, July 26 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday, Aug. 1 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The county said the Registrar’s Office and all county offices will be closed Friday, June 19, and Friday, July 3, so early voting will not be available on either day. That is the main point voters are most likely to miss if they wait until the last minute. The office is also the county’s elections hub, with General Registrar and Director of Elections Ryan Mulligan overseeing operations there, and the Goochland County Electoral Board also meeting at the same site.

Voters age 65 and older and voters with disabilities will have dedicated parking directly in front of the Registrar’s Office, reached from the Sandy Hook Road entrance behind the Goochland County Administration Building. County election pages also direct voters to its Elections and Voter Registration information, Citizen Portal, and sample-ballot and candidate-information pages for election-specific updates, while precinct and district information is available through the registrar’s office.

For voters who prefer to mail a ballot, absentee ballot requests will be accepted through the county vote page or Virginia’s state voter portal, but the request deadline is Friday, July 24. Completed absentee ballots must arrive by Election Day, Aug. 4, or, if postmarked by that day, can be received by noon Friday, Aug. 7. Virginia’s Department of Elections says the Aug. 4 primary includes U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives and local offices, and its calendar sets early in-person voting from June 19 through Aug. 1, with June 18 used when a registrar’s office is closed for Juneteenth.

If early voting is not an option, Goochland’s polling places will be open on Election Day from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. The county’s election-results pages also preserve local results dating back to 2005, giving voters and campaign watchers a long view of how Goochland has voted before this primary arrives.