In the first half of 2024, the Virginia General Assembly passed 38 bills related to elections. Governor Glenn Youngkin vetoed 13 of these bills, which is the most vetoes of election-related laws by any governor during this period. Despite this, Virginia enacted 25 new election laws, the most of any state with a divided government.
Key bills passed include:
HB 1330: Allows registered voters incarcerated for a misdemeanor or awaiting trial for a misdemeanor to vote by mail. If they’re jailed after the deadline to request a mail-in ballot, the jail must provide transportation to the polling place.
HB 943 / SB 364: Adds election workers, officials, and presidential electors to the list of protected voters who can use a P.O. box instead of their home address for registration. Increases penalties for threats against these individuals.
HB 111: Requires presidential electors to be U.S. citizens, state residents, and to take an oath to vote for their party’s candidate. It also outlines how to replace vacant elector positions.
HB 989: Sets new requirements for the state’s elections website, including translation into multiple languages and listing all candidates and referenda.
Governor Youngkin vetoed several other bills, including:
SB 606: Would have required the state to rejoin the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), a voter list maintenance group. Virginia left ERIC in 2023.
HB 904 / SB 300: Would have required voter registration cancellation records to be kept for four years instead of two and set new security standards for voter registration systems.
SB 428: Proposed new procedures for ranked-choice voting elections to ensure smoother and legally sound processes.
This information is based on Ballotpedia’s State of Election Administration Legislation 2024 Mid-Year Report, which tracked 3,735 election-related bills in the first half of this year.