VirginiaVoting Rights Act of Virginia; revises provisions.
What it does
Elections; Voting Rights Act of Virginia. Revises provisions of the Voting Rights Act of Virginia (the Act) by (i) clarifying the legal standards for evaluating claims of alleged voter suppression and vote dilution, (ii) providing guidance to the courts to follow when determining whether a violation of the prohibition against voter suppression or vote dilution has occurred, and (iii) outlining the factors that the courts are permitted to consider and those factors that the courts are prohibited from considering. The bill expands the class of persons who may initiate a cause of action for an alleged violation of the Act to include organizations whose membership includes members of a protected class, organizations whose mission would be frustrated by a violation of the Act, and organizations that would expend resources in order to fulfill their mission as a result of a violation of the Act.
More detail
The population thresholds for a locality to be designated as a covered locality for purposes of minority language accessibility pursuant to the Act are also amended. Current law designates a locality as a covered locality if, in the locality, (a) more than five percent of the voting age population or (b) more than 10,000 of the voting age population are members of a single language minority and are unable to speak or understand English adequately enough to participate in the electoral process; the bill reduces those thresholds from five to three percent and from 10,000 to 5,000. The bill contains technical amendments for organizational purposes.
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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 13Approved by Governor Abigail Spanberger-Chapter 717 (effective 7/1/2026)Became Law
- Mar 16Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB967)
- Mar 14Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026To Governor
- Mar 14Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 14, 2026Minor
- Mar 13Signed by PresidentMajor
- Mar 13Signed by SpeakerMajor
- Mar 13Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB967ER)Major
- Mar 13EnrolledMinor
- Mar 6Senate amendments agreed to by House (62-Y 35-N 0-A)Major
- Vote recorded H VOTE:. Result: pass.Lower
- Mar 4Passed Senate with amendments (21-Y 18-N 0-A)Passed Senate
- Vote recorded Passage R. Result: pass.Upper
- Mar 4Engrossed by Senate as amended
- Mar 4Committee amendments agreed toMajor
- Mar 4Read third timeMinor
- Mar 3Passed by for the day (Voice Vote)
- Vote recorded Reported from Finance and Appropriations. Result: pass.Upper
- Vote recorded Constitutional reading dispensed (on 2nd reading). Result: pass.Upper
- Mar 3Constitutional reading dispensed (on 2nd reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A)
- Mar 3Rules suspended
- Mar 3Reported from Finance and Appropriations (10-Y 5-N)Minor
- Feb 24Reported from Privileges and Elections with amendments and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (8-Y 7-N)Minor
- Vote recorded Reported from Privileges and Elections with amendments. Result: pass.Upper
- Feb 24Senate committee offered
- Feb 13Referred to Committee on Privileges and ElectionsMinor
- Feb 13Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading)
- Feb 12Read third time and passed House (63-Y 35-N 0-A)Passed House
- Vote recorded H VOTE:. Result: pass.Lower
- Feb 11Read second time and engrossedMinor
- Feb 11Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB967)
- Feb 10Read first timeMinor
- Feb 6Reported from Privileges and Elections (15-Y 7-N)Minor
- Vote recorded Subcommittee recommends reporting. Result: pass.Lower
- Vote recorded Reported from Privileges and Elections. Result: pass.Lower
- Feb 6Subcommittee recommends reporting (6-Y 2-N)
- Feb 3Assigned HPE sub: Voting RightsMinor
- Jan 13Referred to Committee on Privileges and ElectionsMinor
- Jan 13Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26101432DIntroduced