Voter guide: What's on the ballot in the DMV

🗳️ How to vote on Election Day

You can vote in-person or drop off your mail ballot at a drop-box until polls close.

• Officials advise against mailing in ballots on Election Day, due to USPS processing time.

📍 D.C.

Polls are open from 7am to 8pm.

• Voters can cast ballots at any of the dozens of vote centers, regardless of your registration address.
• You can register to vote in-person, too.
• Ballot drop-boxes are open until polls close.

📍 Maryland:

Polls are open from 7am to 8pm.

• Voters can find their polling station and check registration status on the voter lookup page.
• Ballot drop-boxes are open until polls close.

📍 Virginia:

Polls are open from 6am to 7pm.

• Voters can find their polling station and look up the status of mail-in ballots online.
• Ballot drop-boxes are open until polls close.

Ballot initiatives

D.C. voters will decide whether to open up primaries to independent voters and institute ranked-choice voting.

Why it matters: Initiative 83 would bring a sea change to the electoral process, and it's facing fierce opposition from the city's Democratic establishment.

How it works: If approved, D.C. voters will be allowed to rank up to five candidates in order of preference.

• That ensures one candidate will gain at least 50% of electoral support.

D.C. primary elections will also be partially opened up, allowing voters who aren't registered to a party to cast ballots in the often-decisive Democratic primary.

• There are about 75,000 registered "no party" voters.

Full explainer

Zoom out: Suburban voters will also have ballot questions. View Maryland and Virginia's on their state elections websites.

U.S. president

ICYMI: Vice President Kamala Harris (Democrat) will face former President Donald Trump (Republican) in what's expected to be a nail-biter race.

Plus: In D.C. and Maryland, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will remain on the 2024 ballot, despite his decision to drop out of the race. More than half of states will still have his name appear before voters, CBS News reports.

• In Maryland and Virginia, Chase Oliver (Libertarian Party) and Jill Stein (Green Party) have also made the ballots.
• Virginia will have two more presidential candidates: Claudia De la Cruz (Independent) and Cornel West (Justice for All).

U.S. Senate

Maryland: 🔴 Larry Hogan (R) vs. 🔵 Angela Alsobrooks (D)

Democratic Prince George's County executive Angela Alsobrooks is running against former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan to represent Maryland in the U.S. Senate.

• Democrats are spending heavily on the contest to keep the seat blue, against a Republican who enjoyed widespread popularity over two terms as governor.

Throughout September, Alsobrooks led Hogan by single digits in most public surveys, but roughly a third of voters don't know who she is.

• Democrats hope to keep their slim majority in the Senate with a win, and Republicans are raring for an upset in a state that Presidential Biden carried by 33 points.

Virginia: 🔴 Hung Cao (R) vs. 🔵 Tim Kaine (D)

Retired Navy Captain Hung Cao, who grew up and lives in Northern Virginia, is challenging Sen. Tim Kaine, the Richmonder seeking his third Senate term.

• Cao, endorsed by Donald Trump, beat out four other candidates for the Republican nomination in June.
• Kaine, a Democrat, has represented Virginia in the Senate since 2013 and raised around five times more than Cao.

U.S. House

D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton is running for an 18th term to continue representing her hometown.

• A top issue confronting the Democrats in Congress is moving the RFK Stadium bill forward to give the city a path toward redeveloping the large site.
• Norton, 87, told Axios last year that she will continue to run for office, "As long as I'm in good health, enough to walk in the House of Representatives."

• Republican Myrtle Patricia Alexander and Statehood Green party candidate Kymone Freeman are running against Norton.

Other races we're watching: Northern Virginia's 10th District

Shadow seats

D.C. isn't a state, but the U.S. shadow senator and representative are tasked with the job of changing that.

• One of the two U.S. Senator shadow seats is up for grabs, in a race between Republican Nelson Rimensnyder and Democrat Ankit Jain.
• For U.S. Rep., Democrat and incumbent Oye Owolewa is running for re-election against Republican Ciprian Ivanof.

D.C. Council

The Ward 8 election is grabbing much of D.C.'s attention following a scandal surrounding Council member Trayon White, who's running for another term.

• White's campaign has vowed he will stay in the race while he faces a bribery charge from federal prosecutors and an independent investigation from a special D.C. Council committee. He's pleaded not guilty.

State of play: Before the bribery charge in August, White was widely expected to win re-election as the Democratic nominee.

• Unless he steps aside, he remains the favorite. An attempt to draft write-in candidates for the election quickly fizzled.
• Some potential contenders are more likely to pounce if he is removed from office and there is a special election.

Republican nominee Nate Derenge is the only name on the ballot challenging White in Ward 8.

• Since White's arrest, Derenge's mantra on social media: "Not a bribe-taker."
• At a recent forum, he was asked if his platform would "propel gentrification or slow it down." He responded: "My plan would increase homeownership," and said that he wants the city to sell public property to residents at a discount.

Meanwhile, White has not commented publicly about his court case.

• A trial may not begin until the spring or summer of 2025.

Zoom out: Four other council members are up for re-election this year. Brooke Pinto (Ward 2) and Janeese Lewis George (Ward 4) are running unopposed.

• Democrat Robert White (at-large) and Independent Christina Henderson (at-large) are running in a pick-two race. It also includes challengers Rob Simmons, a Republican, and Darryl Moch, a Statehood Green party candidate.
• In Ward 7, the Democratic nominee, Wendell Felder, is widely favored to fill the seat of retiring Council member Vince Gray. Felder is facing Republican Noah Montgomery.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to add polling hours and locations.