RICHMOND, Va. – The Virginia deadline to apply to register to vote in the Nov. 8, 2016 general election is Monday, Oct.17, 2016.

The simplest way to apply to register to vote or to update your address information is to visit the Virginia Department of Elections (ELECT) website at elections.virginia.gov.

To complete this online application process, eligible citizens must provide their Virginia DMV customer identifier number, displayed on DMV-issued identification cards or driver’s licenses.

Citizens who do not have a Virginia DMV customer identifier may still fill out the registration application online but will be required to print and return the completed application to the appropriate local voter registration office.

Customers may also apply to register to vote at their local registrar’s office or at any of the 74 Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) customer service centers, five mobile offices, or 49 DMV Select locations throughout the state.

In addition, DMV customers who need to update their address with both agencies may do so electronically on DMV’s website, dmvNOW.com.

Citizens are urged to check their voting status before the Oct. 17, 2016 application deadline.

If you need to find out if you are registered to vote or where your polling precinct is located, visit https://www.vote.virginia.gov/search, call 1-800-552-9745, or contact your local voter registrar.

Citizens are not registered to vote until a paper or online voter registration application is approved by your local registrar.

Once an application is approved, a registration confirmation letter will be mailed to you from your local registrar’s office.

To be eligible to register to vote in Virginia, you must:

Be a resident of Virginia

Be a U.S. citizen

Be 18 years old (Any person who is 17 and will be 18 by November 8, 2016 may register.)

Not be registered and/or plan to vote in any other state

Not currently be declared mentally incompetent by a court of law

Have had your right to vote restored, if convicted of a felony Virginia law requires all voters to provide an acceptable form of photo identification when voting in person at their polling place.

For a list of acceptable forms of photo identification, visit elections.virginia.gov.

The Department of Elections has extended their customer service hours and is available to answer your voter-related questions from the hours of 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Call 800-552-9745 and select Option 1.

Number of registered voters in Richmond metro swells beyond 2008 numbers

Compared to 2008 when President Obama was voted in for his first term there are now more than 60,000 new registered voters combined in the City of Richmond, Chesterfield, and Henrico Counties.

A big part of that spike has to do with an increasing population. However, in Richmond and Chesterfield, there are more people registered to vote per capita than eight years ago.

It may be a sign there could be higher voter turnout in those areas despite how negative both the Trump and Clinton campaigns have been at times.

“The reality sometimes is that when you have these big personalities it actually increases the attention and anything that increases the attention of the election could result in more voters,” said CBS6 Political Expert Dr. Bob Holsworth.