NORFOLK, Va. - Early voting begins Friday in Virginia and for the third straight year voters do not need an excuse to vote early and can vote absentee by mail through Election Day on November 8.
Congressional races and local elections will be on the ballot this year.
Following redistricting, the boundaries of Virginia's eleven Congressional districts have been redrawn.
In Hampton Roads, the second district saw some significant changes. The district used to include the Eastern Shore, Virginia Beach, parts of Norfolk, and then communities on the Peninsula.
Redistricting now brings the district down the Eastern Shore through Virginia Beach into southern Chesapeake through Suffolk and into Southampton County.
Experts say that has made the district more favorable to Republicans, which could help State Sen. Jen Kiggans (R-Virginia Beach) as she tries to unseat incumbent Rep. Elaine Luria (D-Virginia).
"This district has become much more Republican by about two or three points, which can signal a change in a close election contest," said Dr. Ben Melusky, a political science professor at Old Dominion University.
In addition to congressional races, numerous local elections are on the ballot, including the mayor of Newport News.
Some local voters will also see changes in their elections, including in Virginia Beach, where voters can only choose the city council candidate that lives in their actual district.
Prior to a lawsuit, voters could vote for all the candidates regardless of where they lived. The city adopted a 10-1 system, where ten council members will serve geographic districts and one mayor will make up the city council.
While the city initially lost the lawsuit and was forced to adopt this plan, an appeal went in the city's favor and the city council could change the election format in a future election.
The city has been sending out information to try and inform voters voting for city council will be different this year.
"We certainly want people to know about this change to understand what it means to them and the impact it's going to have when they show up at the voting booth because it is a very different way in how local representatives have been selected in the city up until now," said Bryan Clark with the City of Virginia Beach.
