In North Carolina on Wednesday, Oct. 17, individuals began voting in the November midterm election. It is called early voting — not absentee voting. 

In North Carolina, early voting runs from Oct. 17 through Nov. 3. 

Of course, Election Day is on Nov. 6, when North Carolina’s 13 congressional seats will be up for election.

North Carolina is by no means the most progressive among the states, but it is way out in front of Virginia in this area. 

Why don’t we have early voting in Virginia? 

We don’t even talk about it. We have voting on Election Day and absentee voting, where voters have to specify a reason why they can’t vote on Election Day, and that is it. This is as non-progressive as it gets.

According to a TIME magazine article in 2016, 37 states and the District of Columbia have early voting.  

In the next Virginia General Assembly session, this should be one of the top issues. Denying an early voting opportunity is just another voter suppression method. This is embarrassing!  

TONNIE VILLINES

Henrico County