VirginiaElections; candidates and elected officials, confidentiality of personally identifiable information.
What it does
Elections; candidates and elected officials; address confidentiality. Prohibits the custodian of any filing made by a candidate from releasing the address, phone number, or email address of such candidate in response to a request made under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. The bill permits a candidate to provide the unique identifier assigned to him in the voter registration system pursuant to relevant law in place of his residence address on any candidate filing.
More detail
The State Board of Elections is prohibited from requiring candidates to disclose their address or unique identifier on petitions prior to their being filed. The bill also adds elected officials to the list of people who may furnish, in addition to their residence street address, a post office box address located within the Commonwealth to be included in lieu of their street address on the lists of registered voters. The certificate of election delivered to the winner of an election is required to be accompanied by a notice that the person meets the qualifications for being granted protected voter status along with instructions for updating their voter registration in order to attain such status. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027. This bill is identical to SB 632.
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Where it stands
- Introduced
- Passed House
- Passed Senate
- To Governor
- Became Law
Looking ahead
No hearings or votes scheduled.
History
- 2026
- Apr 6Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0228)Latest
- Apr 6Approved by Governor Abigail Spanberger-Chapter 228 (effective 7/1/2026)Became Law
- Mar 14Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026To Governor
- Mar 14Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 14, 2026Minor
- Mar 12Signed by SpeakerMajor
- Mar 11Signed by PresidentMajor
- Mar 11Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB835)
- Mar 11Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB835ER)Major
- Mar 11EnrolledMinor
- Mar 4Senate substitute agreed to by House (76-Y 19-N 0-A)Major
- Vote recorded H VOTE:. Result: pass.Lower
- Mar 2Passed Senate with substitute (21-Y 19-N 0-A)Passed Senate
- Vote recorded Waive Reading (on 2nd reading). Result: pass.Upper
- Vote recorded Passage R. Result: pass.Upper
- Feb 27Passed by for the day
- Feb 27Engrossed by Senate - committee substituteMajor
- Feb 27Privileges and Elections Substitute agreed to
- Feb 27Read third timeMinor
- Feb 26Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB835)
- Vote recorded Constitutional reading dispensed (on 2nd reading). Result: pass.Upper
- Feb 26Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)
- Feb 26Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A)
- Feb 26Rules suspended
- Feb 24Committee substitute printed 26108499D-S1Major
- Vote recorded Reported from Privileges and Elections with substitute. Result: pass.Upper
- Feb 24Senate committee offered
- Feb 24Reported from Privileges and Elections with substitute (15-Y 0-N)Minor
- Feb 13Referred to Committee on Privileges and ElectionsMinor
- Feb 13Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading)
- Feb 12Read third time and passed House (79-Y 19-N 0-A)Passed House
- Vote recorded H VOTE:. Result: pass.Lower
- Feb 11Read second time and engrossedMinor
- Feb 10Read first timeMinor
- Feb 6Reported from Privileges and Elections (17-Y 5-N)Minor
- Vote recorded Reported from Privileges and Elections. Result: pass.Lower
- Feb 3Subcommittee recommends reporting (6-Y 2-N)
- Vote recorded Subcommittee recommends reporting. Result: pass.Lower
- Feb 2Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB835)
- Jan 30Assigned HPE sub: Campaigns and CandidatesMinor
- Jan 13Referred to Committee on Privileges and ElectionsMinor
- Jan 13Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26104684DIntroduced