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By DOUG GARDNER ARUNDEL NEWSPAPERS STAFF WRITER
Come Election Day, Nov. 5, an estimated 1.5 million people across Virginia will walk into their local voting precincts, cast their ballots and leave to await the results.
The process of voting is simple. But the massive preparations needed for that one day’s activities keep hundreds of state and local employees busy year-round.
Virginia’s Constitution guarantees qualified state residents the right to vote. But before a potential voter can exercise that right, he or she must perform some simple tasks and meet certain criteria.
■ The potential voter must be a resident of Virginia; there is no residency time limit in Virginia.
■ He or she must be at least 18 years of age by the day of the election and must “register” with the local registrar — the local election official.
To register, a potential voter only needs to provide the registrar with basic information like his or her name, date of birth, address and Social Security number. To vote in an election, new voters must have registered at least 30 days before the election. People who have voted in the same “precinct,” or voting area, before need not register if they have voted at least once within the past four
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