~ Herring has sent a letter to elections officials and law enforcement officers asking for their commitment to ensuring a safe, fair, and free election, and outlining protections and resources to ensure Virginians are able to vote safely and easily ~

RICHMOND (October 29, 2021) – Attorney General Mark R. Herring has sent a letter to key law enforcement officials and elections officials asking for their commitment to ensuring a safe, fair, free, and accurate election, and providing updated information regarding laws, resources, and tools at their disposal “to ensure that Virginians have a safe and comfortable voting experience when they go to the polls on Election Day or before.”

In the letter, Attorney General Herring explains to the law enforcement and elections officials, “[a]s you play a critical role in protecting the elections process in the Commonwealth, I thought it important to ensure that you know the protections that are in place and the options available to you should we see any behavior…that could constitute voter intimidation or harassment.”

“It’s so important for elections officials and law enforcement officers to have an understanding of the most updated protections in place to keep Virginia voters safe. Every single Virginian should feel comfortable while they are voting, whether they choose to vote in person early or on Election Day,” said Attorney General Herring. “Last year, my team and I worked hard to ensure that Virginia’s election was fair, free, and safe, and we have done the same this year. Voter harassment and intimidation go against the very founding principles of democracy and will never be tolerated in the Commonwealth.”

In the letter, Attorney General Herring highlights the “most recent significant change in our voter protections laws [that] involves an expansion of the prohibition on firearms at polling places.” The new law “makes it unlawful ‘to knowingly possess any firearm . . . within 40 feet of any building, or part thereof, used as a polling place’ while ‘the polls are open and ballots are being counted, or within one hour of opening or after closing.’” Last month, Attorney General Herring issued an advisory opinion about this new law that concluded that early voting locations are considered “polling places,” which means that firearms are prohibited at these locations under Virginia Code § 24.2-604(A)(iv) while they are being used as polling places.

Attorney General Herring also discusses an opinion that he issued in September 2020 that outlined protections in both state and federal law against voter intimidation and harassment in Virginia.  

Additionally, Attorney General Herring notes that the Virginia Department of Elections has many resources for both elections workers and voters who believe they may have witnessed or experienced voter intimidation or encountered other problems at the polling place.

Attorney General Herring’s Work Protecting Voters

Protecting Virginians voting rights has been a top priority for Attorney General Herring during his time in office. During the COVID pandemic, Attorney General Herring has worked hard to ensure that all Virginians could vote safely and easily, regardless of how they chose to vote, and protect voters from illegal harassment or intimidation at the polls.

Because of all the work that Attorney General Herring and his team did in preparation for Election Day 2020, including making it clear that absolutely no voter intimidation would be tolerated in Virginia and preparing and planning for any and all outcomes or potential legal challenges, the Commonwealth saw a remarkably smooth and uneventful Election day. In addition to the OAG attorneys who normally represent the Board of Elections and the Department of Elections, Attorney General Herring assembled a multidisciplinary team of attorneys from his Civil Litigation and Public Safety Divisions, Solicitor General’s Office, and other divisions across the OAG, who were on standby, ready to jump into action at a moment’s notice should the need have arisen. The OAG also had lawyers in every corner of the Commonwealth who were prepared to go into court to handle any potential legal challenges.

Virginia also saw historic turnout during last year’s election, especially in early and absentee voting. This increase in voter participation was really possible in part because of Attorney General Herring's work to make voting as easy and safe as possible during this unprecedented election cycle.

Last year’s election cycle brought numerous challenges that prompted Attorney General Herring and his team to develop solutions and put out guidance to make sure every Virginian had a safe, comfortable, easy voting experience, whether they chose to vote early absentee, early in person, or on Election Day.

Attorney General Herring also successfully blocked the Trump Administration's drastic operational changes to the U.S. Postal Service, when a federal judge granted his motion for preliminary injunction, explicitly saying in his order that, “at the heart of DeJoy’s and the Postal Service’s actions is voter disenfranchisement.”

Additionally, Attorney General Herring put a lot of emphasis on ensuring that Virginians felt comfortable and protected at polling places across the Commonwealth by:

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