SB 34: Incapacitated persons; finding of lack of capacity to understand act of voting. - Virginia

Privileges and Elections Substitute → Chaptered · 4 edits

MODERATE

This bill amends Virginia laws regarding incapacitated persons to clarify when an individual loses the right to vote. It establishes that a specific court finding is required to disqualify someone from voting based on incapacity, rather than assuming incompetence from a general guardianship order. The law also sets strict rules on what evidence courts can use to make this determination, prohibiting the use of literacy tests or moral character judgments.

Scope change

The scope of voting rights for incapacitated persons was narrowed to require explicit judicial findings of inability to understand the act of voting, rather than automatic disqualification based on general incapacity.

ELIGIBILITY

Disqualification from voting now requires a specific court finding by clear and convincing evidence that the person lacks the capacity to understand the act of voting, rather than automatic disqualification from a general guardianship.

REQUIREMENT

Courts must provide reasonable accommodations during evaluations to determine voting capacity and cannot rely on literacy tests, educational achievement, or moral character assessments.

TIMELINE

A review of prior voting disqualifications is required for individuals affected before July 1, 2026, either through a petition or at their next scheduled periodic review hearing.

DEFINITION

Clarified that a general finding of incapacity does not automatically mean a person is 'mentally incompetent' for voting purposes unless the court order specifically states so.

Finance and Appropriations Substitute → Privileges and Elections Substitute · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to narrow its scope by removing the automatic disqualification of all incapacitated persons from voting. Instead, it now requires a specific court finding that an individual lacks the capacity to understand the act of voting itself, rather than just being generally incapacitated. This change aims to protect the voting rights of people with disabilities who can still comprehend how to vote, even if they need assistance with other life decisions.

Scope change

The bill's scope was reduced from automatically removing voting rights from all court-ordered incapacitated persons to only removing those specific rights from individuals who are explicitly found by a judge to lack the capacity to understand the act of voting.

ELIGIBILITY

Removed the automatic disqualification of all incapacitated persons from voting; now requires a specific judicial finding that the person cannot understand the act of voting.

REQUIREMENT

Updated court order requirements to specify findings only when a person is found to lack capacity to understand voting, rather than for all incapacitated persons.

Modified the list of adjudications that election clerks must report to include only those specifically found to lack capacity to understand voting.

DEFINITION

Altered the definition of 'mentally incompetent' in the context of voting to require a specific finding of lack of capacity to understand the act of voting.

Enrolled → Finance and Appropriations Substitute · 1 edit

MINOR

The bill was amended from its Enrolled version to a Senate Substitute version, primarily restoring the original text of the definition for 'Conservator' that was accidentally removed in the previous version. The core policy regarding voting rights for incapacitated persons and the requirements for guardianship remain substantively unchanged.

DEFINITION

The definition of 'Conservator' in § 64.2-2000 was modified to restore the phrase 'limited conservator' or 'temporary conservator' which was missing in the Enrolled version, ensuring the definition accurately covers all types of conservators.

Introduced → Enrolled · 4 edits · Mar 12, 2026

MODERATE

This bill significantly narrows the scope of who can be removed from the voter rolls. While the original draft allowed any person found incapacitated to lose their right to vote, the final enrolled version requires a specific court finding that the person lacks the capacity to understand the act of voting itself. It also adds protections against disqualifying people based on low literacy, education levels, or moral character.

Scope change

The bill's scope changed from a broad disqualification of all incapacitated persons to a targeted disqualification only for those who cannot understand the specific act of voting.

ELIGIBILITY

Disqualification criteria changed from general incapacity to a specific requirement that the person lacks the capacity to understand the act of voting.

Added a prohibition on using guardianship reports alone to disqualify voters without first providing reasonable accommodations to assess voting capacity.

Explicitly banned courts from disqualifying voters based on their ability to read/write, educational achievement, or moral character.

REQUIREMENT

Updated section titles and text to reflect the new specific standard regarding the 'act of voting' rather than general incapacity.

Incapacitated persons; finding of lack of capacity to understand act of voting.

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