Nov. 3 ballot in Short Pump: 2 races, 3 amendments

Voters in Short Pump will see five items on the Nov. 3 ballot: a U.S. Senate race, a U.S. House race and three proposed amendments to the Constitution of Virginia. There are no Henrico County questions this year.

Updated Nov. 5: Unofficial results are in. Shannon L. Taylor beat Rep. Rob Wittman in the 1st District, Mark R. Warner was reelected and all three amendments passed. See how Short Pump voted, precinct by precinct.

Early voting in person ends Saturday, Oct. 31. The closest place to vote early is the Western Government Center on East Parham Road.

The names and questions below are from the Virginia Department of Elections’ results file for the election, which lists every contest on Henrico County ballots. Names appear as they are printed on the ballot, in ballot order. Short Pump Now does not endorse candidates or ballot questions.

U.S. Senate

• Mark R. Warner, Democratic
• Bert Mizusawa, Republican

U.S. House: Short Pump votes in the 1st District

Henrico County is split between two House districts. The state’s file places the Short Pump precinct and its neighbors, including Colonial Trail, Nuckols Farm, Innsbrook, Pocahontas, Shady Grove and Three Chopt, in the 1st District.

1st District

• Shannon L. Taylor, Democratic
• Robert J. “Rob” Wittman, Republican

Precincts farther east in the county vote in the 4th District race instead. Each race also has a line for a write-in. The state’s voter information lookup shows your own precinct and district.

Three proposed constitutional amendments

The General Assembly put three amendments on the ballot statewide. The state’s amendments page carries the full wording of each question. In short:

• Question 1 asks whether the constitution should protect the freedom to make personal decisions about prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, birth control, abortion, miscarriage management and fertility care. It would protect doctors, nurses and patients from being punished for those decisions. It would allow restrictions on abortion in the third trimester, except when the patient’s health is at risk or the pregnancy cannot survive.
• Question 2 asks whether to remove the ban on same-sex marriage. It would 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 whether to provide for a fundamental right to vote. A person convicted of a felony could not vote while incarcerated, but would get the right to vote back automatically on release. The bar on voting by people found mentally incompetent would instead apply to people found to lack the capacity to understand the act of voting.

Where and when to vote early

Henrico’s Office of Voter Registration and Elections lists three early voting sites on its elections page:

Hours at the elections offices, according to the county:

• Weekdays: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• Sunday, Oct. 25: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Saturday, Oct. 31: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., the last day to vote early in person

Returning a mail ballot

The county has five drop boxes for mail ballots. The nearest to Short Pump is at the Deep Run Park Recreation Center, 9900 Ridgefield Parkway, which closes at 4:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 2. The box at the Western Government Center stays open until 7 p.m. on Election Day. The deadline to apply for a mail ballot by mail or fax passed Friday, Oct. 23.

Election Day

Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3, and anyone in line at 7 p.m. may vote, according to the Virginia Department of Elections. You vote at your assigned polling place, not at the early voting sites.

What it means for you

If you have not voted yet, you have until 5 p.m. Saturday to vote early at the Western Government Center, or you can vote at your polling place on Nov. 3. Questions go to the county elections office at (804) 501-4347. Our voting page has the standing details on registering and finding your polling place, and we will post unofficial Henrico County results on election night.