AP Election Brief | What to expect in Virginia's primaries for state legislature

WASHINGTON — Virginia voters will select candidates in a primary election Tuesday in which redistricting has forced a record number of retirements and created several high-profile contests between incumbents of the same party.

The winners will face off in a November general election that will decide control of the closely divided state legislature.

In 2021, Republicans won a narrow 52-48 majority in the House of Delegates and swept every statewide constitutional office. This year, they aim for a complete lock on the commonwealth’s legislative agenda by winning back the state Senate, which Democrats now control by a 22-18 majority.

One of the top races to watch is the Democratic primary in the 13th Senate District, where the candidates’ positions on abortion have played a key role. First-term incumbent Joe Morrissey, a former independent, opposes abortion rights and has backed some Republican efforts to restrict the procedure in the commonwealth. His opponent is Lashrecse Aird, a former state delegate who describes her support of abortion rights as “100%.”

Another key race is the Democratic primary in the 18th Senate District in southeastern Virginia between incumbents Lionell Spruill Sr. and Louise Lucas, veteran Black lawmakers who were drawn into the same district.

Here’s a look at what to expect on election night:

ELECTION DAY

Polls close at 7 p.m. ET.

HOW VIRGINIA VOTES

Virginia’s primaries are open to all voters. Voters choose a party ballot, and the choice is recorded.

The AP will declare winners in 50 races – 22 for state Senate, 25 for House of Delegates and three local races for commonwealth’s attorney. There are no statewide elections. The first votes are expected a few minutes after polls close.

In the 2022 general election, election-night updates wrapped up around 11:30 p.m. ET. Historically, Virginia counts at least 97% of votes by noon the next day.

DECISION NOTES

The AP does not make projections and will only declare a winner when it’s determined there is no scenario that would allow the trailing candidates to close the gap.

Should a candidate declare victory or offer a concession before the AP calls a race, we will cover newsworthy developments in our reporting. In doing so, we will make clear that the AP has not yet declared a winner and explain why.

Virginia reports results by vote type, including election-day, early in-person and mail-in ballots. In competitive races, the AP will look to see if results are consistent across vote types. If there are significant differences, we might have to wait until we get a representative sample of votes from each type. Mail-in ballots are likely to play a larger role in Democratic races because Democrats, in recent elections, have been much more likely than Republicans to vote by mail.

The AP may call a race in which the margin between the top two candidates is 0.5% or less if we determine the lead is too large for a recount and legal challenge to change the outcome.

Virginia doesn’t have automatic recounts. Candidates can request, and pay for, recounts if the margin between the top two candidates is 1 percentage point or less. Recounts are paid for by the government if the margin is less than 0.5 percentage points.

Q: WHAT DO TURNOUT AND ADVANCE VOTE LOOK LIKE?

A: As of April 1, there were 6 million registered voters in Virginia, which doesn’t have party registration. In a change from previous elections, Virginia hasn’t released the number of advance votes cast before election day. In the 2022 general election, about a third of voters cast ballots before election day, both in person and by mail.

Mail ballots can arrive as late as the Friday after election day if they are postmarked by election day.

With no statewide election, the AP doesn’t have a statewide turnout projection.

Q: HOW LONG DOES COUNTING USUALLY TAKE?

In the 2022 general election, the vote count in Virginia lasted 10 days in some counties, but the updates were relatively small in the days after election day.

READ UP ON THE RACES

Here’s more on this year’s Virginia’s elections:

Virginia Democrats have fundraising edge, finance reports show, but face more primaries

Abortion plays key role in closely watched Virginia primary involving Democratic lawmaker

Unprecedented number of primaries prompt some Democrat angst

Flurry of Virginia legislators announce retirements

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