Election Day is Tuesday, November 3. If you carry every day, here’s the one place in Virginia where your daily routine has to change: within 100 feet of any polling place, firearms are banned while the polls are open. This isn’t guidance or a suggestion — it’s state law, and violating it is a Class 1 misdemeanor.
The law, plainly stated
Virginia Code § 24.2-604 makes it unlawful for any person to knowingly carry a firearm on or about their person within 100 feet of any building — or any part of a building — used as a polling place. The ban covers:
- The hours the polls are open,
- While ballots are being counted, and
- One hour before the polls open and one hour after they close.
The exceptions are narrow: on-duty law enforcement, qualified retired law-enforcement officers, licensed armed security officers performing their duties, and people on their own private property that happens to fall inside the zone. Your concealed handgun permit is not an exception.
A Class 1 misdemeanor in Virginia carries up to 12 months in jail and up to a $2,500 fine — or both. Not worth it for a trip to the ballot box.
What this means in practice
Leave it home — or leave it properly secured in the car. And note the second part matters more than it used to: since July 1, 2026, leaving a handgun in an unattended vehicle is itself a Class 4 misdemeanor unless it’s out of plain view and in a locked, hard-sided container (§ 18.2-308.7:2). A locked glove box or a lockbox cabled to the vehicle qualifies. Tossing it under the seat on your way in to vote does not.
Your polling place might already be off-limits for a second reason. Many precincts vote in K-12 schools, and firearms are prohibited in schools regardless of the election. If your precinct is a school, the school rule applied before the polling-place rule ever entered the picture.
The zone is measured from the building, not the parking lot line. One hundred feet from the building — or the part of the building — used as the polling place. Election officers are required to post “Prohibited Area” notices, but don’t rely on seeing a sign to know the law.
Early voting counts too. The Attorney General’s office has applied the same prohibition to early voting locations — central absentee precincts, satellite offices, and registrar’s offices designated for early voting.
The takeaway
Carry every day — but know the law every day. That’s the whole point of training: the permit in your wallet only helps if the knowledge behind it is current. Election Day is a good reminder to check yourself before you walk up to your precinct.
This post is educational, not legal advice. When in doubt, leave it secured at home.
Ready to get your Virginia concealed handgun permit — or refresh the training behind it? Book a class with Trouble Defense and learn the law from instructors who teach it every week.
