Partisan Gap in Virginia's Early Votes
A deep partisan divide with early voting has not always been the case in Virginia. The sharp divergence began during the 2016 presidential election. Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin encouraged supporters to vote early in his 2021 race for governor and this fall held numerous early voting rallies for congressional candidates. But the chart below shows the voting patterns persist.
Party's Share of Early Votes
Why VPAP produced this visual: We wanted to see how Virginia stacks up in an ongoing national debate about partisan differences in early voting. The Republican National Committee will examine the party's heavy reliance on Election Day turnout in an upcoming review of its performance in congressional midterms. In Virginia, Democrats have retooled their mobilization efforts to take advantage of a 45-day period of early voting. As stated above, Republican Glenn Youngkin emphasized early voting in his successful 2021 campaign for governor, and the numbers show he had some success in closing the partisan gap. But the chasm widened again this November, despite Youngkin holding numerous early voting rallies in key congressional districts. The partisan gap in early voting also came up at a post-election retrospective sponsored by VPAP at George Mason University in Fairfax.
Note: Results from different elected offices for each year
- President - 2020, 2016, 2012
- U.S. Senate - 2018, 2014
- U.S. House of Representatives - 2022, 2010
- Governor - 2021, 2017, 2013
- Virginia Senate - 2019, 2015, 2011
Source: Virginia Department of Elections.