Whenever the Governor, Speaker of the House, President pro tempore of the Senate, or either house of the General Assembly orders a special election, he, or the person designated to act for the house, shall issue a writ of election designating the office to be filled at the election and the time to hold the election. He shall transmit the writ to the secretary of the electoral board and the general registrar of each county or city in which the election is to be held. Each general registrar shall post a copy of the writ on the official website for the county or city or at not less than 10 public places or have notice of the election published once in a newspaper of general circulation in his jurisdiction at least 10 days before the election. If the special election is held in more than one county or city, the general registrars may act jointly to have the notice published once before the election in the affected jurisdictions.
Whenever a special election is ordered to fill a vacancy otherwise than under the preceding paragraph, the officer ordering the election shall issue his writ of election at the time the vacancy occurs, designating the office to be filled at the election and the time and place to hold the election. He shall direct and transmit the writ to the secretary of the electoral board and the general registrar of each county or city in which the election is to be held. The general registrar, or general registrars if the election will be held in more than one county or city, shall proceed to cause public notice to be given of the election in the same manner as is required in the preceding paragraph.
A copy of any order calling a special election to fill a vacancy shall be sent immediately to the State Board.
Code 1950, §§ 24-138, 24-139; 1970, c. 462, § 24.1-163; 1974, c. 428; 1975, c. 515; 1993, c. 641; 2003, c. 155; 2016, cc. 18, 492.
Structure Code of Virginia
§ 24.2-601. Town election process
§ 24.2-603. Hours polls to be open; closing the polls
§ 24.2-603.1. Postponement of certain elections; state of emergency
§ 24.2-604. Polling places; prohibited activities; prohibited area; penalties
§ 24.2-604.1. Signs for special entrances to polling places
§ 24.2-604.2. Polling places; prohibited area; emergency situations
§ 24.2-604.3. Election day page program; high school students
§ 24.2-604.5. Polling places; presence of additional persons authorized
§ 24.2-604.6. Polling places; simulated election activities
§ 24.2-605. Loudspeakers prohibited at polls; penalty
§ 24.2-606. Preservation of order at elections
§ 24.2-608. Officers to decide order of voting
§ 24.2-610. Materials at polling places
§ 24.2-611. Form and signing of pollbooks; records of persons voting; electronic pollbooks
§ 24.2-612.1. Ballots; death, withdrawal, or disqualification of candidates
§ 24.2-612.2. Notice of withdrawal of candidates
§ 24.2-614. Preparation and form of presidential election ballots
§ 24.2-615. Separate questions for proposed constitutional amendments, etc.; uniform ballots
§ 24.2-616. Duties of printer; statement; penalty
§ 24.2-620. Dividing ballots into packages for each precinct; delivery of absentee ballots
§ 24.2-621. Delivery of packages to officers; opening packages
§ 24.2-622. Unofficial sample ballots
§ 24.2-623. Ballot containers to be supplied by governing bodies; construction and custody
§ 24.2-624. Opening and closing ballot containers; opening polls
§ 24.2-625. Application of Title 24.2 and general law
§ 24.2-625.1. Voting equipment security
§ 24.2-625.2. Wireless communications at polling places
§ 24.2-626. Governing bodies shall acquire electronic voting systems
§ 24.2-626.1. Acquisition and use of accessible voting devices
§ 24.2-627. Electronic voting systems; number required
§ 24.2-629. State Board approval process of electronic voting systems
§ 24.2-630. Experimental use of approved systems
§ 24.2-631. Experimental use of voting systems and ballots prior to approval of the system
§ 24.2-632. Voting equipment custodians
§ 24.2-633. Notice of final testing of voting system; sealing equipment
§ 24.2-634. Locking and securing after preparation
§ 24.2-635. Demonstration of equipment
§ 24.2-636. Instruction as to use of equipment
§ 24.2-637. Furniture and equipment to be at polling places
§ 24.2-639. Duties of officers of election
§ 24.2-642. Inoperative equipment
§ 24.2-643. Qualified voter permitted to vote; procedures at polling place; voter identification
§ 24.2-644. Voting by paper ballot; voting for presidential electors; write-in votes
§ 24.2-645. Defaced printed ballots
§ 24.2-646.1. Permitted use of paper ballots
§ 24.2-647. Voting systems; demonstration on election day
§ 24.2-648. Write-in votes on voting equipment
§ 24.2-649. Assistance for certain voters inside the polling place; penalties
§ 24.2-649.1. Assistance for certain voters outside of the polling place
§ 24.2-650. Officers to sign only official papers, etc.
§ 24.2-651. Voter who is challenged; how challenge tried
§ 24.2-651.1. Voter who is shown as having already voted; provisional ballots
§ 24.2-652. Voter whose name erroneously omitted from pollbook; provisional ballots
§ 24.2-653. Provisional voting; procedures in polling place
§ 24.2-653.01. Provisional ballots; electoral boards to make determination as to validity
§ 24.2-653.1. Voters who did not receive absentee ballots; provisional ballots
§ 24.2-653.3. Voters assigned to split precinct; provisional ballots
§ 24.2-655. Representatives of political parties and candidates to be present on request
§ 24.2-657. Determination of vote on voting systems
§ 24.2-658. Machines with printed return sheets; disposition of sheets
§ 24.2-661. Detection and setting aside of double ballots
§ 24.2-662. Procedure when paper ballots exceed names on pollbooks
§ 24.2-664. Reduction in number of ballots
§ 24.2-665. How paper ballots counted
§ 24.2-666. Procedures to account for paper ballots
§ 24.2-667. Completion of statement of results
§ 24.2-667.1. Reporting of results; absentee votes
§ 24.2-669. Clerk to keep ballots; inspection; destruction
§ 24.2-670. Clerk to send for books and ballots if not delivered by officers
§ 24.2-671. Electoral board to meet and ascertain results; conclusiveness of results
§ 24.2-671.2. Risk-limiting audits
§ 24.2-672. Electoral board to correct irregularities in returns of officers of election
§ 24.2-673. Candidates having highest number of votes to receive certificate of election
§ 24.2-673.1. (Expires July 1, 2031) Ranked choice voting
§ 24.2-674. Determination by lot in case of tie
§ 24.2-675. Abstracts of votes to be made by secretary and forwarded to State Board and to clerks
§ 24.2-676. Secretary to make out and deliver certificate of election
§ 24.2-677. State Board to open and record returns; application of Freedom of Information Act
§ 24.2-678. Law-enforcement officer to be sent for abstracts not forwarded
§ 24.2-679. State Board to meet and make statement as to number of votes
§ 24.2-680. Certificates of election
§ 24.2-681. How special elections superintended and determined
§ 24.2-682. Times for special elections
§ 24.2-683. Writ for special election to fill a vacancy
§ 24.2-684. How referendum elections called and held, and the results ascertained and certified
§ 24.2-684.1. Requirements for voter petitions to call for referendum elections
§ 24.2-685. Special elections; request for abolition of constitutional offices
§ 24.2-687. Authorization for distribution of information on referendum elections