Virginia
Virginia
GradeC
Year2024
TierTop Tier

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Responsive Gov’s Grade TL;DR

The Virginia General Assembly passed a slew of pro-voter reforms this past session, from expanding protections for election workers, to increasing voter access in jails, to expanding access for voters with disabilities. Unfortunately, several of the biggest pro-voter reforms were vetoed by Governor Youngkin. Therefore, Virginia received a C on this year’s progress report.

Looking Back

Where Virginia Started at the Beginning of 2024

  • Automatic Voter Registration: Partial AVR
  • Online Voter Registration: DMV ID
  • Same-Day Registration: Yes
  • Restoration of Rights: Some Permanent Disenfranchisement
  • Vote by Mail: No-Excuse
  • Electronic Registration Information Center Member: No
  • Early Voting Opportunities: In-person Absentee
  • ID Requirements: ID Requested, but not Required

Relying on the Cost of Voting Index for Virginia as of 2024, we considered the state a top tier state for pre-existing voting policy and compared its 2024 activity against other top tier states.

How Our Tier Compares

  • COVI (2024): 14th
  • EPI Score (2022): 10th
  • CLC State Scorecard (2022): 9/10
  • MAP Democracy Rating (2024): MEDIUM

2024: This Past Year

Legislative Action

The Virginia Legislature made a variety of improvements to the state’s election laws this past year.

  • SB 364 expands protections for election workers by amending existing felony election-related crimes and increasing access for the voter confidentiality program to include election officials and presidential electors.
  • HB 943 also expands protections for election workers by allowing election board members, registrars, and employees of registrar offices to apply for protected voter status.
  • HB 1330 increases voting access in prisons and jails for eligible voters that are currently incarcerated for misdemeanor convictions or while awaiting trial. It also revises current civil penalties for interfering with voting to include refusing or failing to allow an eligible incarcerated voter to cast a ballot.
  • HB 1003 requires election officials to notify voters of any changes to their election district, precinct, or polling place at least 30 days before an election instead of the current 15 days.
  • HB 989 requires the Department of Elections to add more useful voter information to its website including how and where to register, how and where to vote, and the ability for a voter to review their current voter registration information. The site must also be capable of displaying the information in any language spoken by a language minority group covered under state law.
  • HB 940 requires notices of polling place changes to be posted at the old polling location on the day of the first primary and general elections held at the new location along with information on how to find the new location.
  • SB 605/HB 441 will allow any voter with a disability to cast their vote outside the polling place.

Executive Action

  • Governor Youngkin vetoed a host of pro-voter reforms passed by the Assembly this past session.
    • SB 606/HB 1177 would have required the Commissioner of Elections to rejoin ERIC so that the state’s voter rolls could remain accurate and up-to-date.
    • HB 26 would have expanded voter ID options to include valid photo IDs issued by several state departments.

    • HB 1408 would have required the Department of Elections to develop standards for election jurisdictions to follow in determining the number of vote centers needed in their location.
    • HB 1534 would have barred voter challenges within the last 60 days before an election.
    • SB 196 would have prohibited the use of questionable voter data from other states and required the Department of Elections to conduct an annual review of all data sources utilized for list maintenance activities in the last year for “validity, completeness, accuracy, and reliability.”
    • SB 300/HB 904 would have prohibited the use of questionable voter data from other states, updated voter list maintenance procedures to require the exchange of information with neighboring states, and revised the confirmation notice process, among other things.
  • Gov. Youngkin issued Executive Order 31 on list maintenance, which establishes multi-agency data share protocols for voter list maintenance and a data review work group. The order also directed the Department of Elections to attempt to establish data sharing agreements with other states to promote list maintenance – a step that would have been unnecessary if Gov. Youngkin had not withdrawn the state from ERIC, a data integrity collaborative run by state elections officials, in 2023.
  • Gov. Youngkin issued Executive Order 35 which required the Commissioner of the Department of Elections to certify that existing election security procedures were being followed.