A Primer on How to Make Your Voice Heard

As you probably know, our state legislature, the General Assembly, is back in session. They have to iron out budget issues and other matters that were unresolved from their regular session.

If you haven’t reached out to your legislators before, or you’re not even sure who they are, here’s a really handy tool to find your specific legislator and how to contact them–WhosMyLegislator.

We are of course not telling you to advocate for any particular message, position or policy. YOU get to tell them whatever YOU want. Just tell them!

In the General Assembly, you are represented by a delegate in the lower house (House of Delegates) who serves a two-year term, and a state senator in the upper house (State Senate) who serves a four-year term. As you probably know, we have a really interesting election reality in Virginia: every year, we have meaningful elections! Look at this array of opportunities for you to be involved:

2020: We vote for U.S. President, U.S. House of Representatives (two-year terms, 435 members), and 1/3 of the U.S. Senate (33 or 34 of 100 members, all serve six-year terms).
2021: We vote for Va. Governor (four-year term) and the entire Va.House of Delegates (100 members).
2022: We vote for the entire U.S. House of Representatives, and 1/3 of the U.S. Senate.
2023: We vote for the entire Va. House of Delegates and the entire Va. State Senate (40 members).

This all starts over again in 2024! AND there are lots of local elections scattered throughout those four years.

Here is a link to a lot of the information you see above, with additional information you might find helpful.

Register to VOTE in Virginia!
Information on how to register.
Citizen Portal to Register Online.

You must register at least 22 days before a primary or general election to qualify to vote in that election.
Find Your Virginia Legislators. (Reach out to your representatives about any of your concerns.)

Register to VOTE in Maryland
Register to VOTE in Washington, D.C.