NORFOLK, Va. — Ahead of the June 20 primaries, Norfolk's director of elections noted a "low overall" turnout Friday, the day before the end of the early voting period in Virginia.
The Nov. 7 election is the first time the 40-seat Virginia Senate has been on the ballot since 2019, and the 100-seat House of Delegates since 2021, when Republicans swept several high-profile elections.
According to Norfolk General Registrar Stephanie Iles, by close of business Thursday, 1,422 people voted in person early, with the most turnout in one day capping at 81.
Localities across the Hampton Roads region mirrored that output, with Virginia Beach and Suffolk -- cities with far different population numbers compared to one another -- coming in just over 1,100 early in-person votes.
For the June primaries across Virginia, districts may have anywhere from two to zero primary races. In Norfolk, 37 precincts have a Democratic primary, five have a Republican primary and 9 have both.
"Don’t want to wait until the day of because you never know," Michael Hughes an early voter in Norfolk, told 13News Now.
This primary cycle, Virginians also see a 45-day early voting window for the first time ahead of a full legislative election.
“To me, it’s still important because it starts with the homegrown politics," Hughes said.
Other voting precincts across Virginia, like the Churchland area of Portsmouth, may be subject to redistricting and another layer of confusion for voters.
Which districts are holding primaries? Who are the candidates?
A full list of primary races across the state can be found on the Virginia Department of Elections website, but here are the ones in the Hampton Roads area:
Virginia House of Delegates
- 84th District – Democratic (Michele Joyce, Nadarius Clark) and Republican (Michael Dillender, Rod Thompson)
- 92nd District – Democratic (Kim Sudderth, Bonita Anthony)
- 94th District – Republican (Kenneth O’Brien, Amy Chudzinski, Andrew Pittman)
- 95th District – Democratic (Richard James, Alex Askew)
- 96th District – Democratic (Brandon Hutchins, Sean Monteiro, Susan Hippen, Kelly Convirs-Fowler)
Virginia Senate
- 17th District – Republican (Herman Sadler, Emily Brewer)
- 18th District – Democratic (Louise Lucas, Lionell Spruill)
- 19th District – Republican (Christie New Craig, Jeff Bruzzesi, Timothy Anderson)
- 21st District – Democratic (Angelia Williams Graves, Andria McClellan)
Important voting dates:
- June 17: Last day of early voting
- June 20: Election day