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<law><site_title>Virginia Decoded</site_title><site_url>https://vacode.org</site_url><law_id>355983</law_id><section_number>24.2-653.2</section_number><catch_line>Ballots cast after normal close of polling hours due to court-ordered extension; provisional ballots</catch_line><edition url="https://vacode.org/2026/" slug="2026" current="TRUE" last_updated="2026-08-02">2026</edition><referred_to_by><reference>24.2-653</reference></referred_to_by><structure><unit label="title" level="1" order_by="64" identifier="24.2">Elections</unit><unit label="chapter" level="2" order_by="7" identifier="6">The Election</unit><unit label="article" level="3" order_by="6" identifier="4">Conduct of Election; Election Results</unit></structure><text>
						<section><p>Whenever the polling hours are extended by an <span class="dictionary">order</span> of a <span class="dictionary">court</span> of competent <span class="dictionary">jurisdiction</span>, any ballots marked after the normal polling hours by persons who were not already in line at the time the polls would have closed, notwithstanding the <span class="dictionary">court order</span>, shall be treated as provisional ballots under this section. The officers of <span class="dictionary">election</span> shall mark the green envelope for each such provisional ballot to indicate that it was cast after normal polling hours due to the <span class="dictionary">court order</span>, and when preparing the <span class="dictionary">materials</span> to deliver to the registrar or <span class="dictionary">electoral board</span>, shall separate these provisional ballots from any provisional ballots used for any other reason. The <span class="dictionary">electoral board</span> shall treat these provisional ballots as provided in &#xA7;&#xA0;<a class="law" title="Provisional ballots; electoral boards to make determination as to validity" href="/24.2-653.01/">24.2-653.01</a>; however, the counted and uncounted provisional ballots marked after the normal polling hours shall be kept separate from all other ballots and recorded in a separate provisional ballots pollbook. The <span class="dictionary">Department of Elections</span> shall provide instructions to the <span class="dictionary">electoral boards</span> for the handling and counting of such provisional ballots pursuant to this section.</p></section></text><history>2020, c. 735.</history><metadata><court_decisions></court_decisions></metadata></law>
