Lines stretched out of polling places across Northern Virginia on Friday as voters took advantage of the first day of early voting — and a new law that allows anyone to cast a ballot before Election Day.

There were reports of long lines outside the Fairfax County Government Center, where by early afternoon voters were told to expect a three-hour wait. In Alexandria, almost 400 people had cast their ballots at Alexandria’s city hall by 11 a.m. — including Sen. Mark Warner (D).

In Arlington, 200 people voted in the first hour that polls were open. “We’ve been able to manage the flow pretty well,” said Gretchen Reinemeyer, general registrar of the Arlington County Electoral Board.

Standing outside the Arlington Courthouse, Luigi de Guzman, a 39-year-old attorney, said it was his first time voting as a new citizen — and he was grateful for the chance to get his vote in early.

“I didn’t want to take the risk of an absentee ballot being lost in the mail or otherwise not counted,” he said.

De Guzman, who immigrated to the U.S. from the Philippines, said he hoped to make a change away from the Trump administration’s policy toward foreigners. “This has been a very difficult four years,” he said. “I have had to represent some people in immigration matters and that has been very challenging.”

Election officials say that social distancing and cleaning protocols are slowing the voting process, and stressed that early voting — also known as in-person absentee voting — will continue in Virginia for 45 days, through Oct. 31.

Mass early voting in Virginia is newly possible because of a series of changes the new Democratic majority passed in the General Assembly earlier this year to increase access to voting in Virginia. One of the main changes was allowing anyone to cast an in-person absentee ballot; in the past, only voters who had an official excuse could vote early.

“Last year they asked, or you had to sign a paper why you voting early,” said 61-year-old Arlington resident Tanya Nash, who cast a ballot for Joe Biden. “This year they didn’t ask any questions.”

Rosalyn Cooperman, a political scientist at the University of Mary Washington, said that no-excuse absentee voting was the first bill introduced by the new Democratic majority in the House of Delegates in January.

“That clearly sent a signal that this was going to be a priority for Democrats,” she said.

As of this year, 38 states offer some form of early voting, but Virginia has one of the longest early-voting periods in the country. Early voting also kicked off in Minnesota, Wyoming and South Dakota on Friday; in D.C. and Maryland, it starts in late October.

Virginia Democrats also did away with a photo ID requirement for voting and made Election Day a state holiday. And during the ongoing special legislative session, lawmakers also passed pandemic-specific rules to prepay return postage on absentee ballots, and to allow localities to open drop boxes where voters could leave their ballots.

Some Republicans resisted the changes. Greg Schumacher, the Fauquier County Republican Committee chair, said he worried a rush of absentee ballots could make it impossible to quickly determine the winner of elections.

“I think some of these changes affect the very confidence of the American people in the electoral process,” he said.

And that could come into play in the parts of Fauquier County that fall in the Fifth Congressional District — one of the tightest races in Virginia this election season.

Democratic candidate Cameron Webb, an African American doctor and health policy expert, is competing with Republican Bob Good, a former athletic director of Liberty University and a self-described “Biblical conservative” who ousted a moderate Republican incumbent, Denver Riggleman. On Friday, the Cook Political Report changed its rating of their race from “leans Republican” to “toss-up.”

Webb’s campaign said the new voting rules were a blessing.

“We’re really happy with how accessible voting is this year because there are multiple safe ways to cast the ballot now,” said Mia Ehrenberg, communications director for Webb.

Despite their political differences, both Webb and Good both voted early Friday. Nancy Smith, campaign manager for Good, said he had volunteers across the district, which sprawls from Fauquier County down to the North Carolina border. Webb cast his ballot in Albemarle County.

Both campaigns urged their supporters to follow their example and take advantage of the new laws ahead of Election Day.

Another contested race in Northern Virginia is in the 10th Congressional District, where incumbent Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D) is facing a challenge from Republican Aliscia Andrews. While the district — which stretches from the D.C. suburbs to the Shenandoah valley — long remained in Republican hands, Wexton defeated Republican Rep. Barbara Comstock in 2018. Political analysts now rank it as “safe” or “solidly” Democratic.

Wexton voted early in Leesburg on Friday.