About the City of Richmond's Office of Elections

The City of Richmond's Office of Elections administers voter registration and elections for the City of Richmond in accordance with Virginia law. The office works to ensure elections are conducted accurately, securely, and accessibly for all eligible voters.

Virginia is made up of independent cities and counties, each served by a General Registrar and a three-member Electoral Board. Together, these officials are responsible for voter registration and election administration at the local level. In Richmond, the General Registrar serves as the chief elections official and the primary point of contact for the public.

Richmond is the fourth-largest city and the tenth-largest locality in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The city serves more than 160,000 registered voters, a number that continues to grow as Richmond’s population expands.

Electoral Board and Governance

The Electoral Board provides oversight and policy guidance for the administration of elections in the City of Richmond. Responsibilities include:

• Appointing the General Registrar/Director of Elections

• Approving the appointment of Election Officers (poll workers)

• Providing policy guidance related to election administration

The current members of the Richmond City Electoral Board are:

• Board Secretary: C. Starlet Stevens

• Board Chair: Bill Pantele

• Board Vice Chair: Joyce K. Smith

General Registrar and Director of Elections

David Levine serves as the Director of Elections and General Registrar for the City of Richmond. He previously served as the office’s Deputy General Registrar from 2012 to 2014.

Prior to rejoining the City of Richmond, Mr. Levine served as a senior fellow at the University of Maryland’s Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement and as an adjunct professor focusing on election security at George Mason University. He also served as a senior elections integrity fellow with the German Marshall Fund’s Alliance for Securing Democracy and previously managed elections as the Ada County, Idaho Elections Director.

Mr. Levine holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Haverford College and a Juris Doctor degree from Case Western Reserve University School of Law. His professional experience includes election administration, civic engagement work, and election observation in the United States and internationally.

Mission Statement

The right to vote is a foundational principle of democracy. The Richmond Office of Elections supports this principle by:

1. Conducting fair and impartial elections

2. Certifying election results in a transparent manner

3. Supporting the registration of eligible voters

4. Promoting voter education throughout the City of Richmond