As the November local and gubernatorial elections quickly approach, so is the Virginia voter registration deadline.
The deadline for registering to vote in the Nov. 3 elections is Oct. 5 - next Monday - said Ryan Enright, spokesperson for the Virginia Board of Elections.
The elections will include races for governor and state positions, as well as local posts in City Council and the School Board.
Enright said the Board of Elections has seen an increase in the number of calls from Virginia residents during the past few days as the registration deadline nears. These inquiries, he said, have largely dealt with Board of Elections procedures such as where to find registration forms, how to change addresses, how to find the nearest polling place and which candidates will be on the ballot.
These procedures typically do not change for elections that do not decide a national race, he said, and these types of inquiries are by no means out of the ordinary.
But because it is not a national race, there has been a drop in voter registration for this year's elections, and there will be a decrease in turnout especially among young voters, said Isaac Wood, assistant communications director of the University's Center for Politics and a former Cavalier Daily opinion columnist.
"You're going to see a much smaller number of young people turn out and a smaller percentage of the electorate comprised of young voters," Wood said. "It is harder to convince people to go out and register new voters because for the most part, people don't get as excited for a governor's race as they do a presidential race."
Nevertheless, the Board of Elections said it is treating this election as if it were a national race.
"We treat all elections the same," Enright said. "Obviously there's been a little less attention on this election [compared to last year's] but that doesn't change anything for us."
According to the Virginia Board of Elections Web site, 27,846 people have registered to vote in the City of Charlottesville as of Aug. 31.
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