agencies to respond to the pandemic. And now, with the vaccine rollout underway across the Commonwealth, my team has been instrumental in helping the Department of Health as well as its local health districts with its legal needs related to the distribution and administration of the COVID-19 vaccine. As colleges and universities across Virginia began to realize they may have to shorten the academic year, my Education Section went to work helping schools assess the best courses of action to ensure their students and surrounding communities stayed safe. And, once schools decided to return to campus in some capacity, we helped them develop the best processes for that to happen. The COVID-19 pandemic also impacted the 2020 Presidential election and the primaries leading up to it. The attorneys in my office who represent the Board of Elections and the Department of Elections played a pivotal role in ensuring that last year’s election cycle went smoothly, despite the pandemic. They developed solutions and put out guidance to make sure every Virginian had a safe, comfortable, easy voting experience, whether they chose to vote early absentee, early in person, or on Election Day. My team and I negotiated options to promote safe, secure voting for Virginians who could not or did not want to risk their health to vote in person, including an agreement that waived the witness requirement for absentee ballots for Virginians who feared for their safety voting in person, and an agreement that made it easier for Virginians with disabilities to participate in the election safely at home. Without a doubt, I can say that 2020 was an unparalleled year for every Virginian, but I can also say that I don’t think Virginia would have been able to weather all of the challenges the year brought without the extraordinary efforts of the Office of the Attorney General. Even in the most difficult of times my team has stepped up to make sure that the Commonwealth’s legal needs are met, ensuring that the state is in the best position to respond to the pandemic and protect public health and safety. I am incredibly proud of their hard work and dedication to the people of Virginia. No sooner had Virginia’s life-saving mitigation efforts taken effect, then legal challenges began to be filed throughout the Commonwealth. As the Attorney General of Virginia, Mark Herring works to keep Virginians and their families safe while promoting justice, equality, and opportunity. He is leading efforts to combat the heroin and opioid crisis, to reduce gun violence, to transform the way Virginia deals with sexual and domestic violence, and to protect Virginia taxpayers from abuse and scams. Raised by his mom in Loudoun County, he received bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Virginia and graduated with honors from the University of Richmond School of Law. Herring began in public service as the town attorney for Lovettsville. He served on the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors, and the Senate of Virginia representing parts of Loudoun and Fairfax Counties while working to bring technology-based economic development to the Northern Virginia region, secure transportation funding for needed projects, and make both state and local governments more accountable to the citizens of Virginia. www.vsb.org THE HEALTH LAW ISSUE | VOL. 69 | FEBRUARY 2021 | VIRGINIA LAWYER 29