Virginia mail ballot can be returned multiple ways to protect privacy

"BOMBSHELL DISCOVERY: Holes In Fairfax County, VA, Absentee Ballot Envelopes Conveniently Reveal Who Voter Chose For AG Candidate," reads the headline of an October 21, 2025 article posted to X by Gateway Pundit, a website AFP has repeatedly fact-checked for spreading misinformation about US elections.

"When voters insert their ballot into the return envelope, their mark for Republican Attorney General candidate Jason Miyares is VISIBLE through the envelope," the article says. "This means postal workers, election officials, and anyone handling your ballot can SEE if you voted Republican – and potentially remove your ballot before it's counted!"

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Screenshot of a post on X taken October 28, 2025

A similar article appeared in the Daily Signal as posts from conservative influencers amplifying concerns about the ballot return envelopes spread across social media.

Virginians began early and absentee voting in September ahead of a November 4 election that will decide all the top offices in the state.

Polls show the race for attorney general between Republican incumbent Jason Miyares and challenging Democrat Jay Jones is a near dead heat following revelations that Jones sent text messages in 2022 calling for political violence against a fellow legislator.

Fairfax County is the most populous jurisdiction in the state and concerns about the mail ballot return envelopes were first raised by local Republican party officials.

On October 17, 2025 the Fairfax County Republican Committee sent a letter complaining that the return envelope for absentee ballots "exposes the voter's mark for only one candidate, the Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares."

Party leaders demanded the registrar take action, saying: "Fairfax County election officials have created several risks with this envelope design, including a risk that mailed ballots could be selectively removed before being tabulated" (archived here).

But it is possible to fold the ballot with the vote selections facing in, so no markings show through the hole, the Fairfax County Office of Elections states on its website (archived here).

County officials also appeared on local news segments, demonstrating how to insert the ballot to avoid privacy concerns (archived here).

Additionally, the county's Office of Elections told AFP in an October 31 email that the return envelopes were not designed specifically for this election, but that it has used the same design "over the last four years."

It said that for future election planning, it "will consider ballot layout in relation to the return envelope design."

For those with lingering concerns, the Virginia Department of Elections says even if a resident requested to vote absentee, they can exchange an unopened mail ballot for an in-person ballot at their polling place (archived here).

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A screenshot of a graphic distributed on Facebook by the Virginia Department of Elections

Accessibility feature

Fairfax County explained in a post on X that the holes punched in the envelopes comply with requirements for a "tactile marking" to assist visually impaired voters under Virginia Code § 24.2-704(B) (archived here and here).

Whitney Quesenbery (archived here), chief program officer for the nonprofit Center for Civic Design, which works with states to make sure voting materials allow people with disabilities to vote independently, said the holes can also benefit election workers.

"When you have a stack of envelopes that have been opened and the ballots taken out, and you're about to store those envelopes, you can see through the hole that you haven't left any ballots behind," she told AFP on October 22.

AFP debunked similar concerns about the holes in mail ballot envelopes which circulated as Californians began voting on Proposition 50, a special election that will determine the fate of redistricting in the state.

Fraud is rare

Voting by mail is regularly targeted with claims it can lead to widespread election fraud, but experts say the assertion is unsupported.

"Mail ballots have been successfully used in the United States for over 150 years, and in that time, states have developed multiple layers of security to protect against malfeasance," according to the Brennan Center for Justice (archived here and here).

Fairfax County details the strict chain of custody for ballots on its website (archived here). 

"Ballot envelope review and processing activities are conducted by sworn elections staff, alongside election officers and in the presence of authorized party representatives," it says (archived here).

The county shared footage of election workers processing mail ballots on X on October 14 (archived here).

The status of a mail ballot can also be checked online or by calling the Fairfax registrar's office.

Fairfax County's website also says voters who are concerned their ballot was not received can vote provisionally on November 4 (archived here). "The registrar will ensure that each voter's ballot is counted only once."

The Center for Election Innovation and Research says: "Numerous studies and audits have confirmed that mail-in voting fraud is extremely rare" (archived here).

Penalties including fines and jail time can be imposed on those convicted of fraud (archived here). Postal workers who destroy or delay mail entrusted to them also face fines and up to five years in jail under 18 U.S. Code § 1703 (archived here).

The conservative Heritage Foundation's election fraud tracker shows just 36 cases in Virginia since 1982, 15 of which involved absentee ballots, but did not implicate election or mail workers (archived here).

Find more of AFP's reporting on US politics here.