VIRGINIA, USA — In addition to voting in the presidential election between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, Virginians participating in the 2024 General Election Tuesday selected their representatives in Congress and voted on a proposed state constitutional amendment.
In Hampton Roads, key races included Virginia's 2nd Congressional District, where Rep. Jen Kiggans (R) defeated challenger Missy Cotter Smasal (D), as well as the U.S. Senate election where Democrat Tim Kaine won reelection over Republican Hung Cao.
There are also a lot of local municipal elections across Hampton Roads this year, including races for school boards, city and town councils, mayor, and sheriff. Residents in Chesapeake were also asked -- and subsequently rejected -- a curbside recycling referendum.
Follow along below as our team of journalists brings you the latest updates on Election Day 2024 from voters at the polls, election officials, candidates, and local political analysts.
7:15 p.m. Wednesday — Cotter Smasal concedes in VA-02, Dyer claims victory in VB mayor
Democrat Missy Cotter Smasal conceded her race in Virginia's Second Congressional District against Republican incumbent Jen Kiggans on Wednesday afternoon.
"Today I concede the race for Congress. I’m proud of our campaign that focused on essential freedoms and protecting our Democracy. That work must continue, and I know my supporters will continue to make their voices heard," she said in part in her concession.
Meanwhile, several local races remain close with all precincts reporting. Results are unofficial before they will be certified. In one closely watched race, Virginia Beach Mayor Bobby Dyer appears heading to reelection and he claimed victory on Wednesday.
2:28 p.m. Wednesday — Trump campaign issues statement on Harris' concession over the phone
The Trump Campaign released a statement from the campaign communications director, Steven Cheung.
"President Donald J. Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris spoke by phone earlier today where she congratulated him on his historic victory. President Trump acknowledged Vice President Harris on her strength, professionalism, and tenacity throughout the campaign, and both leaders agreed on the importance of unifying the country," Cheung said.
2:09 p.m. Wednesday — Harris congratulates Trump on election victory
The Associated Press reports that senior aid for Vice President Kamala Harris said she called President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday to congratulate him on his election win and the importance of a peaceful transfer of power.
Harris is set to issue her planned concession speech Wednesday afternoon.
10:30 a.m. — CISA Election Statement
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Director Jen Easterly issued a statement Wednesday on the security of the 2024 elections.
Easterly expressed her deepest gratitude to state and local election officials and the hundreds of thousands of Americans who served as poll workers on Election Day.
"As the lead federal government agency for election infrastructure security, CISA is proud to call them partners. It is because of their tireless efforts that we can all have confidence in the security and resilience of our elections."
According to Easterly, the U.S. election infrastructure has never been more secure and there was no evidence of any malicious activity having a material impact on the security or integrity of the election process.
5:35 a.m. — Republican Donald Trump secures second presidency
Republican, former President Donald Trump is the projected winner of the 2024 presidential election, the AP reports.
11:12 p.m. — Jennifer McClellan reelected to Virginia House District 4
The Associated Press declared McClellan the winner against Republican challenger William "Bill" Moher, III. Read the full story.
11:05 p.m. — Rob Wittman reelected to Virginia House District 1
The Associated Press declared Rob Wittman the winner in Virginia'
11:02 p.m. — Portsmouth mayor Shannon Glover reelected
Shannon Glover was reelected as Portsmouth's mayor. Read the full story here.
s first Congressional District against Democratic challenger Leslie Mehta. Read the full story.
10:52 p.m. — Tim Kaine wins Virginia's Senate race
ABC News declares that Kaine defeated Republican challenger Hung Cao. Read the full story.
9:50 p.m. — What comes next after Election Day?
The process continues Wednesday morning with the canvass, which sees election officials go through and double-check results. They will also adjudicate provisional ballots that came in.
Nov. 15 is the deadline to report local results. On Nov. 18, the State Board of Elections will meet and determine the election audit, a process that will impact every locality across the state.
On Dec. 2, the state board of elections will meet to certify the results of all of the Nov. 5 elections. On Dec. 17, Virginia will hold its electoral college in Richmond, and those votes will be delivered to the Capitol on Jan. 6.
9:40 p.m. — College town votes processed
Long lines in college towns across Virginia were a sign of high voter engagement, and all of those students had voted by 9 p.m. on Election Day, according to state Department of Elections Commissioner Susan Beals.
Beals said the lines were reported in many college towns, including at Phoebus High School, where many Hampton University students were voting.
“We have checked with all of those registrars, and they have indicated to us that all of those students have been served,” Beals stated during a 9 p.m. update with media.
9:30 p.m. — Scott wins U.S. House District 3
Democrat Bobby Scott has won reelection in Virginia's U.S. House District 3, defeating Republican challenger John Sitka, III in a race covering Norfolk, Newport News, Hampton, Portsmouth and parts of Chesapeake. Read the full story.
8:45 p.m. — Winner called in Poquoson mayoral race
David Hux (54%) wins Poquoson's mayoral race over Tanner Showalter (45%), with 100% of precincts reporting according to the Virginia Department of Elections.
7:54 p.m. — Packed house at Chesapeake Mayor Rick West's watch party
Incumbent Mayor Rick West and his supporters are gathered at Lockside Bar and Gril awaiting the election results. West supporters said they're excited and believe he has a good chance of winning re-election.
7:51 p.m. — Sen. L. Louise Lucas arrives at daughter's watch party
Lisa Lucas-Burke's watch party kicked off around 6:44 p.m.; her mother arrived about an hour later.
Retired firefighter, Garland Alexander, who helped organize campaigners for Lucas-Burke's campaign, said he's supporting Lucas-Burke for always supporting firefighter issues.
"She supports firefighter issues. The other one we have now was sometimes supportive, sometimes he wasn't. She was, and her mother also, was always supporting firefighter issues," said Alexander.
7:24 p.m. — Voters at Missy Cotter Smasal watch party eagerly await her arrival
Cotter Smasal is expected to arrive around 8 or 9 p.m., but voters said they were willing to wait “all night if they have to, to get these results.”
7 p.m. — Voting polls close across Virginia
Polling places have closed across Virginia. However, anyone who was in line at their polling location at 7 p.m. must be allowed to vote. Follow live election results here.
6:48 p.m. — Voters at Hampton polling place wait hours to cast ballots
Poll workers at the Phoebus High School polling location in Hampton tell Stephanie Johnson there are long waits at this particular precinct. Voters are waiting up to two hours to cast their ballots.
Poll workers have also provided a snack line outside of the school for voters to eat while they wait.
6:30 p.m. — Hampton voters talk about mayoral race
Voters at Aberdeen Elementary School discussed their desires for a new mayor. Regardless of tonight's outcome, the city will have a new mayor, as incumbent Donnie Tuck decided not to seek reelection.
Jimmy Gray and Richelle Wallace are running for the office.
“What do you want to see in your next mayor for Hampton, someone who will bring more jobs," voter Twyler Powell said.
“I’m going with the woman," said Shirley Tisdale, indicating she had voted for Wallace, who emphasized the need for mental health resources during the campaign. "Mental health is important. It’s a lot of things that people don’t speak on like it’s just now becoming important, it should have been important.”
6:20 p.m. — Williamsburg turnout continues to increase
Voters in Williamsburg have cast 2,561 ballots on Election Day, in addition to 386 provisional ballots. There were 3,941 early voters. There are 11,873 active registered voters in the city.
5:20 p.m. — Virginia Beach precincts see mixed bag of turnout
Virginia Beach election officials say about 89,000 people had voted across the city as of 5 p.m. That's in addition to 120,489 voters who cast a ballot in person early or by mail-in absentee.
There were lots of new voters and military, officials told 13News Now's Alex Littlehales.
Some precincts, like Windsor Woods, were busy.
Others, such as Precinct 1, were not as busy. Charles Ricks, precinct chief there, told 13News Now's Emily Harrison that there hadn't been as many people.
“I’m depressed, this is my Super Bowl," Ricks said. "I wanted to see 3,000 people through these doors today, and so far we are about a thousand. Part of the reason why is 43% of this precinct has already voted absentee, early voting.”
Two voters there were John Koren and his wife, Lyn. “We normally don’t vote straight party -- we go through candidates. Throughout my life I’ve pretty much voted Republican, we both have, there’s only been a few times we’ve voted Democrat for president and this was one time I felt like it was really important.”
Both Lyn and John voted Trump in 2016, but changed their votes in 2020 and now. Lyn is also visually impaired, and John legally reads her choices to her and they vote together.
4:30 p.m. — Richmond Electoral Board removes a precinct chief
The Richmond Electoral Board removed a precinct chief at an emergency meeting Tuesday after 11 voters reportedly received the wrong ballot.
Susan Beals, commissioner of the Virginia Department of Elections, said it was unclear whether the voters at Precinct 310 on Calhoun Street received a presidential-only ballot, or a federal-only ballot. Regardless, they were unable to vote for municipal races. Richmond voters are electing a mayor this year, as well as City Council and School Board representatives in nine different districts.
“They have gone ahead and replaced that individual with a different person who is now running that precinct,” Beals stated during a 4 p.m. briefing from the Department of Elections.
Beals said she was not informed of the reasons why the precinct chief was removed, as it was a decision by the Richmond electoral board.
Regarding vote reporting tonight, Beals said three types of votes will be reported on Tuesday night: early in-person, absentee by mail, and the Election Day vote. Provisional votes will be counted later on, before the result is certified.
Beals also encouraged voters who are in line by 7 p.m. to stay in line until they are able to vote.
"Please make sure you stay in line," she said. "Even if the 7 o'clock hour passes, they will process you and they want you to vote, so please do not get out of line."
3:20 p.m. — Voters in Cradock, Portsmouth chat with 13News Now
Victory Fellowship Church in Cradock was a really busy precinct earlier in the day, but with just over three hours until polls close, poll workers told reporter Marta Berglund that things seems to be slowing down a bit.
"It was easy," said Portsmouth voter Charlie Gilbert. "The volunteers at the office were very nice and if you needed any information, they would help you out."
3 p.m. — Virginia Beach, Williamsburg report voter turnout
Virginia Beach has seen 74,000 voters at the polls today as of 3 p.m., out of 344,025 registered voters in the city. 120,489 had voted early before Election Day.
As of 3 p.m., Williamsburg had seen 2,078 regular ballots cast, in addition to 275 provisional ballots, across its two precincts. There were 3,941 early voters. There are 11,873 active registered voters in the city.
12 p.m. — Initial voter turnout reported across Hampton Roads
Portsmouth: As of 12 p.m. Tuesday, 11,042 people had voted on Election Day, according to the city's registrar. There are 70,640 registered voters in Portsmouth.
York County: As of 11 a.m. Tuesday, just over 31,000 of York County's 53,000 registered voters had cast their ballots, according to the local registrar.
Virginia Beach: As of 12 p.m., 55,000 city residents had voted on Election Day, according to the Virginia Beach registrar. The city has 344,025 registered voters, and 120,489 had voted early before Election Day.
Williamsburg: As of 11 a.m., 1,381 residents had voted on Election Day, in addition to the 4,055 early votes. The city has 11,873 registered voters, according to the city registrar.
11 a.m. — Jen Kiggans casts her ballot in Virginia Beach
13News Now reporter Germyah Batey spoke with Jen Kiggans at the Saint Episcopal Church polling location after she cast her ballot Tuesday morning in Virginia Beach.
Kiggans is the Republican incumbent candidate in Virginia’s Second Congressional District race against Democrat challenger Missy Cotter Smasal.
Kiggans said her work is far from over and that she will continue fighting for the issues voters care about the most.
“I’ve been very focused on quality-of-life issues, and I’ve had the privilege of sitting on a task force that looked at recruitment, retention, quality of life,” said Kiggans. “I looked at paying compensation, housing, healthcare, and spousal employment. We need to continue to prioritize that work.”
10 a.m. — Department of Elections gives update on voting across Virginia
Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Elections Susan Beals gave her first update to the media on voting across the Commonwealth.
As of 10 a.m. Tuesday, state elections officials were aware of just one issue at polling sites in Virginia. At Precinct 310 (Gilpin Court) in Richmond, election workers handed out federal-only ballots to 11 voters, but Beals said the issue had been resolved.
As of Tuesday morning, she said 2,305,439 of Virginia's 6,374,437 registered voters had already cast their ballots through early voting — 1,861,938 in-person and 443,501 by mail. She said 126,266 mail-in ballots were still outstanding and that those voting absentee by mail must have those ballots postmarked on or before today.
So far, 16,557 people across the state had used same-day registration before voting, and Beals said the Dept. of Elections expected more throughout the day.
8 a.m. — Missy Cotter Smasal casts her ballot in Virginia Beach
13News Now reporter Germyah Batey spoke with Missy Cotter Smasal after she cast her ballot Tuesday morning at John B. Dey Elementary School in Virginia Beach.
The Democratic candidate discussed her candidacy for Virginia’s Second Congressional District, emphasizing the choice voters face in this election and outlined why she believes she is the better option.
“There’s a stark contrast this year,” said Cotter Smasal. “You can either vote for the chaos, dysfunction, and extremism we’ve seen from many Republicans in Congress, or you can vote for a sensible, result-driven approach focused on protecting your fundamental freedoms — your reproductive rights your voting rights and safeguarding our democracy. That’s my commitment and I’m dedicated to earning your vote.”
Missy Cotter Smasal is the Democratic candidate running against Republican Jen Kiggans.
6:30 a.m. — Virginia Department of Elections to provide 3 updates Tuesday
The Virginia Department of Elections will hold three briefings on Tuesday, Nov. 5 at 10 a.m., 4 p.m. and 9 p.m.
During the briefings, Virginia Commissioner of Elections Susan Beals will provide updates on how the voting process is going across the Commonwealth. Follow this story for the latest coverage.
6 a.m. — Polls open in Virginia for Election Day 2024
Election Day voting has begun! Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Virginia. Any voter who is in line to vote at 7 p.m. will be able to vote.
To find a polling place near you, visit the Virginia Department of Elections website.
Virginia is offering same-day voter registration. That means if you go in person to cast your ballot, you can register at that time if you haven't already done so. Same-day registration means you will have to vote with a provisional ballot. Elections officials will have to verify a voter's paperwork before the ballot can be counted.
5:30 a.m. — Poll workers prep for busy voting day in Virginia Beach
13News Now Reporter Germyah Batey says that dozens of voters started to form a line outside the Windsor Woods Elementary School voting location in Virginia Beach before polls opened at 6 a.m.
Virginia Beach is known for having a majority vote that switches parties from election to election, and it will be an area to watch for this year's election, too.
In the 2020 presidential election, Democrat Joe Biden won the city with 51% of the vote. A year later, in the governor's election, Republican Glenn Youngkin won with the same percentage.
Residents in Virginia Beach this year will vote in elections for sheriff, mayor, city council and school board.
Voter guide for Election Day 2024
When do polls open on Election Day? Here are the poll opening and closing times for all 50 states. Remember, as long as you're in line by the time polls close on Election Day, you can still cast your ballot. Full story here.
When do polls close on Election Day? Here's a complete guide to poll closing times for every state, as well as how many electoral votes are at stake for each, during the upcoming November election. Full story here.
How to find your voting location: For in-person voting on Election Day, the Virginia Department of Elections website has a polling location lookup tool where you can find the address for your voting location. More info here.
What is on the ballot in Virginia for the November 2024 election? In addition to the U.S. Presidential Election, Virginians are voting for their representatives in a U.S. Senate race and several U.S. House of Representatives races. They will also vote for or against a state constitutional amendment and in a variety of local municipal elections. Full story here.
How will votes be counted during the 2024 election? 13News Now breaks down three things to know about the vote counting process in n Virginia and North Carolina: how long, in what order votes will be counted, and if there will be a recount. Full story here.
Sample ballots for the 2024 elections
In Virginia, there is no state-run centralized website to view sample ballots. Instead, the voter registrar in each city and county is likely to make their sample ballots available online. Choose your locality below to visit their website: