In Virginia, in-person early voting for the 3 November 2026 general election began on 18 September and runs, according to the state Department of Elections, through 31 October. Ballots cast now are not a result; they only open the period in which voters can vote before Election Day.

The midterms decide the full House of Representatives and part of the Senate, and therefore congressional majorities for the second half of the presidential term. Registration, mail voting and early voting rules differ by state. Idaho, Minnesota and South Dakota, like other states, have early or absentee procedures on their own calendars, not necessarily the same opening date.

Election officials ask people to check place, hours and documents on official state or county pages. Early turnout is not a poll: some groups vote early more often, others on Election Day.

The campaign runs on domestic and foreign themes, from the cost of living to immigration. This article endorses no candidate and does not read an outcome from the first hours of voting.

The start of early voting is an administrative fact, not a political verdict. Deadlines must be checked locally; a general article does not replace a county guide.

Ballot secrecy remains the rule. The picture shows an early-voting office in Louisiana in 2020, not Virginia in 2026 and not a completed ballot that can be read.

The result will be known after counting and certification, not when early polls open.

Image: Jefferson Parish Registrar of Voters, Kenner, Louisiana, October 2020 / Wikimedia Commons (Infrogmation, CC BY-SA 4.0). US early voting, not Virginia 2026. Cropped to 16:9.

Source consulted: Virginia Department of Elections — Early voting for 2026 November general election begins Sept. 18; USA.gov — Voting and elections.