Nearly two weeks into early voting, Northern Virginia counties are still seeing thousands of people casting ballots daily, indicating a surge of voter enthusiasm as well as concerns about the mail and the pandemic.

Fairfax County spokesperson Brian Worthy estimates that some 1,000 people are voting each day. In Prince William County, about 2,000 people are voting daily, says Matthew Wilson in the county’s office of elections. In Alexandria, more than 900 people on average vote each day, according to city spokesperson Craig Fifer.

This outpouring of early voting is unprecedented, a result of multiple causes. Previously, early and absentee voters used to have to give a reason — such as being out of town, or ill — for why they could not vote on Election Day. This year Democrats in the General Assembly passed a law doing away with that requirement. Further, after the pandemic hit, voters in Virginia and across the country began requesting absentee ballots in record-breaking numbers. Finally, recent cuts in the U.S. Postal Service triggered panic among would-be absentee voters who worried their ballots might not arrive in time.

The result was clear at the Fairfax County Government Center last week, as a line to vote early in person snaked out from the entrance, ran down the length of a long hedge, and doubled back.

“I don’t want to miss the chance to vote, because on Election Day it’s going to be more crowded,” said Anbesse Tesfamariam, 62, of Lorton, Va., after he waited for an hour and 15 minutes to cast his ballot. He said he was voting a straight Democratic ticket in part to preserve his access to affordable healthcare after he was laid off from his job at a parking company.

“I’m unemployed. I’m out of my insurance plan so I’ve got to have Obamacare,” Tesfamariam added. “At least I’m protected.”

Some of the changes in Virginia voting have proven confusing. In Loudoun County, defense consultant Andrea McAleese of Leesburg said she was turned away because she requested an absentee ballot but did not bring it with her when she attempted to vote early.

“I’m nervous about sending my vote back in, so I want to make sure that I actually come here,” she said. “I’ll just come back.”

McAleese said she planned to vote for Democratic candidate Joe Biden for president, although she intended to choose Republican candidate Aliscia Andrews for Congress. McAleese said she didn’t believe the Democratic incumbent U.S. Rep. Jennifer Wexton was “vocal and out there” enough.

Prince William County’s Matthew Wilson said voters there personally delivered between 500 and 1,000 absentee ballots a day. In Alexandria, Fifer said nearly 300 people were dropping off absentee ballots per day.

In an election that has been transformed by the pandemic, Virginia voters are also making their choices based on how they believe their leaders are handling the coronavirus.

A 56-year-old voter from Ashburn, Va., who only gave her first name as Patty, said she intended to vote all Republican in the 2020 election in part because she was unimpressed with how Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam handled the coronavirus pandemic.

“He’s keeping the state closed after COVID, like, businesses are suffering, small businesses are going out of business and that shouldn’t be happening,” she said.

In a poll published Tuesday by Christopher Newport University, 48% of voters said they believed Biden would be better when it comes to responding to COVID-19, compared to 36% who favored Trump. Virginia voters also told pollsters they supported changes to policing including training on de-escalation, requiring body-worn cameras, and requiring officers to intervene when a colleague uses unlawful force; these measures are part of a Democratic-led push for police reform underway in the current special session.

Virginia’s early voting is longer than any other jurisdiction in the region. Although D.C. and Maryland have started sending out mail-in ballots, both will only allow early voting beginning the week before Election Day. Across the region, voters can mail in their absentee ballots, they can bring them to the registrar’s office, or they can bring them to secure drop boxes. More information about Virginia voting is available at the Virginia Department of Elections.

The deadline to register to vote in Virginia, D.C., and Maryland is Oct. 13, although in D.C. and Maryland voters can also register to vote on Election Day. Virginia does not provide same-day registration.

Learn more with DCist’s guides to voting in Virginia, Maryland, and D.C.