by Don Richeson –
Middlesex County voters head to the polls Tuesday, June 23 to help pick either a U.S. representative or U.S. Senator, although many are instead voting by absentee ballot due to COVID-19 concerns. No matter what their party affiliation is, qualified voters can vote in either the Democratic or Republican primary, but not both.
Middlesex County is in District 1 of the U.S. House of Representatives and Democrats vying for the Dist. 1 seat are Qasim Rashied and Lavangelene A. Williams. On the Republican side, incumbent Robert J. Wittman is running unopposed for the Dist. 1 seat.
In the U.S. Senate race, there are three Republicans candidates to choose from, Alissa A. Baldwin, Daniel M. Gade and Thomas A. Speciale II. On the Democratic side, incumbent Mark R. Warner is running unopposed for the U.S. Senate seat.
Polls in Middlesex County will be open 6 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesday, June 23, at the following locations:
- Jamaica District — Hermitage Baptist Church, 94 Wares Bridge Road, Church View.
- Saluda District — Cooks Corner Office Complex, 2911 General Puller Highway; and the Urbanna firehouse, 330 Virginia St.
- Harmony Village District — The Cryer Center, 7485 General Puller Highway, Locust Hill.
- Hartfield District — The Middlesex Family YMCA building, 11487 General Puller Highway.
- Pinetop District — Middlesex County Volunteer Rescue Squad, 17684 General Puller Highway, Deltaville.
Virginia law requires all voters to provide an acceptable form of photo identification (photo ID) when voting in person. Voters arriving without photo ID will be required to vote a provisional ballot and will have until noon on the Friday following the election to deliver a copy of identification to Middlesex County’s Electoral Board for their provisional ballot to be counted.
All voted absentee ballots must be returned to the voter registration office by 7 p.m. June 23 to be counted in the primaries. For those who applied by June 16, in-person absentee voting is available at the Voter Registration and Elections Department’s office in Saluda. Voters may cast an absentee ballot in person from 8:30 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, as well as the final day to vote absentee in-person, June 20, from 9 a.m.- 5 p.m. County buildings are closed to the public, yet elections staff is still conducting in-person absentee voting through the window of the voter registration and election’s office.
For voting information, call Middlesex County Registrar Melissa Welch at 804-758-4420.
Middlesex County has a total of 8,120 registered voters.
(Be sure to pick up a copy of the June 25 print edition for more election info.)
