Early voting for the November 3 election is set to begin this Friday, September 18. The final day for early voting is October 31.
Voters can cast their ballots early at the Russell County Office of Voter Registration and Elections, located at 96 Russell Street in Lebanon.
One of Virginia’s seats in the United States Senate, the Ninth District’s Congressional seat, and seats on the county’s three town councils will be on the ballot. Three proposed amendments to Virginia’s Constitution will also appear on the ballot.
Incumbent Democrat Senator Mark Warner will be challenged by Republican Bert Mizusawa.
Republican Congressman Morgan Griffith will be running for reelection against Democratic challenger Joy Powers.
In Cleveland, Mayor Linda Couch will be running for reelection unopposed.
Four of the current five members of the Cleveland Town Council are seeking reelection. They include Megan Chumbley, Ty Harris, Jeremiah “Tiny” Neal and Thomas Vance.
A three-way race for the mayor’s office will be on the ballot in Honaker. Mayor Jodi Eaton is being challenged by Earnest “Bubby” Short and Tommy Testerman.
Five candidates will be competing for three seats on the Honaker Town Council. They include Dewey “Benny” Chafin, Scott McGlothlin, Jennifer Short, Cathy Ray and Nancy Taylor.
Three seats will be contested on the Lebanon Town Council. Incumbents Nina Fields and Leonard Kegley will be running for reelection. Challengers include David Boyd, Carri Bradshaw and Andrew Mays.
Long-time council member and current vice mayor, Deanna Jackson, is not seeking reelection.
Three proposed constitutional amendments will also be on the ballot.
Question 1 asks: Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended to protect the freedom to make personal decisions about prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, birth control, abortion, miscarriage management, and fertility care; protect doctors, nurses, and patients from being punished for these decisions and allow for restrictions on access to abortion during the third trimester of pregnancy except when the patient’s health is at risk or the pregnancy cannot survive?
Question 2 asks: Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended to remove the ban on same-sex marriage; affirm that two adults may marry regardless of sex, gender, or race; and require all legally valid marriages to be treated equally under the law?
Question 3 asks: Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended to provide for the fundamental right to vote in the Commonwealth, to revise the qualifications of voters so that a person convicted of a felony is not entitled to vote during his period of incarceration but is automatically invested with the right to vote upon release from incarceration, and to update the existing prohibition on voting by persons found to be mentally incompetent to instead apply to persons who have been found to lack the capacity to understand the act of voting?
The deadline to register for the November election and to request an absentee ballot is October 23.
Completed absentee ballots must be postmarked by November 3 and must be received by November 6 at noon.
