HB 319 Virginia House of Delegates · 2026 Regular Session

Back-end, opt-out automatic voter registration; work group to study implementation.

Summary

Secretary of Administration; work group on automatic voter registration. Directs the Department of Elections to convene a work group for the purpose of studying the implementation of back-end, opt-out automatic voter registration (AVR) in the Commonwealth. The work group shall include representatives of the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Virginia Information Technologies Agency, and the Office of the Attorney General, in addition to members of the House and Senate Committees on Privileges and Elections, general registrars, and organizations advocating for or working on voting rights and data privacy. The work group is tasked with considering the effectiveness, efficiency, and security of back-end, opt-out AVR as compared to Virginia's current front-end, opt-out process and identifying the costs and benefits of moving to such a system. The Secretary of Administration is required to submit a report of the work group's findings to the Chairs of the House and Senate Committees on Privileges and Elections by November 1, 2026. This bill is identical to SB 658.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

House of Delegates Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

Signed into Law

Apr 2026

Introduced Jan 10, 2026 Signed Apr 13, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

Enrolled → Chaptered · 1 edit

MINOR

The bill was formally enacted into law as Chapter 589 of the 2026 Virginia Acts of Assembly. The primary change is the addition of the specific approval date, April 13, 2026, which confirms the bill has passed all legislative stages and is now official state law.

TECHNICAL

Added the specific approval date (April 13, 2026) to the header, indicating the bill has been finalized and enacted.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 26, 2026 · House of Delegates Feb 17, 2026

How they voted

39–0

Passed

Total votes 39

Feb 26, 2026

D Democratic20

20 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican19

19 Yea

100% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Apr 13, 2026

Signed into law

Approved by Governor-Chapter 589 (effective 7/1/2026)

executive

Mar 31, 2026

Lower · Passed

Signed by Speaker

lower

Mar 30, 2026

Upper · Passed

Signed by President

upper

Mar 30, 2026

Lower · Passed

Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB319ER)

lower

Mar 13, 2026

Lower · Passed

Conference report agreed to by House (61-Y 31-N 0-A)

lower

Mar 13, 2026

Upper · Passed

Conference report agreed to by Senate (21-Y 16-N 0-A)

upper

Mar 13, 2026

Legislature · Passed

Conference Report released

legislature

Mar 6, 2026

Committee

Senate requested conference committee

upper

Mar 6, 2026

Introduced

Senate insisted on amendments (40-Y 0-N 0-A)

upper

Mar 2, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed Senate with substitute (21-Y 19-N 0-A)

upper

Feb 27, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed by for the day

upper

Feb 26, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)

upper

Feb 24, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate committee offered

upper

Feb 24, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported from Privileges and Elections with substitute (8-Y 7-N)

upper

Feb 18, 2026

Committee

Referred to Committee on Privileges and Elections

upper

Feb 17, 2026

Lower · Passed

Read third time and passed House (61-Y 35-N 0-A)

lower

Feb 13, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported from Privileges and Elections (15-Y 6-N)

lower

Feb 9, 2026

Lower · Passed

Subcommittee recommends reporting (5-Y 2-N)

lower

Feb 6, 2026

Committee

Assigned HPE sub: Election Administration

lower

Jan 10, 2026

Committee

Referred to Committee on Privileges and Elections

lower

1 primary · 2 co-sponsors