SB 438 Virginia Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Absentee voting in person; available the second and third Sunday before all elections.

Summary

Absentee voting in person; available the second and third Sunday before all elections. Requires absentee voting in person to be made available for a minimum of five hours between the hours of 11:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on the second and third Sunday immediately preceding all elections.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

House of Delegates Passage

Mar 2026

Signed into Law

Apr 2026

Introduced Jan 13, 2026 Signed Apr 13, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Privileges and Elections Substitute → Enrolled · 5 edits · Mar 12, 2026

MODERATE

The bill was finalized as an enrolled act, removing the 'Substitute' status and adding the official session year. The most significant policy change is a reduction in the required minimum operating hours for absentee voting offices on Sundays, decreasing from a minimum of eight hours to a minimum of five hours. Other changes are minor formatting adjustments, such as updating section references to use a special character and clarifying the Department's name.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on absentee voting procedures in Virginia, but the specific requirements for office operating hours have been relaxed.

REQUIREMENT

Reduced the mandatory minimum operating hours for absentee voting offices on the second and third Sundays before elections from eight hours to five hours.

Changed the section reference for absentee voter lists from '§ 24.2-706' to '§ 24.2-706' (formatting update).

Updated section references throughout the text to use a special character (§) instead of a standard hash (#) for consistency.

TECHNICAL

Added 'ENROLLED' and 'VIRGINIA ACTS OF ASSEMBLY' headers, indicating the bill has passed all legislative stages and is now law.

Removed the 'OFFERED FOR CONSIDERATION' date and the 'AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE' header, as the bill is no longer in committee review.

Floor votes · Senate Jan 29, 2026 · House of Delegates Mar 4, 2026

How they voted

39–0

Passed

Total votes 39

Jan 29, 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 945 (effective 7/1/2026)

executive

Mar 12, 2026

Upper · Passed

Signed by President

upper

Mar 12, 2026

Lower · Passed

Signed by Speaker

lower

Mar 12, 2026

Upper · Passed

Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB438ER)

upper

Mar 6, 2026

Upper · Passed

House amendment agreed to by Senate (21-Y 19-N 0-A)

upper

Mar 4, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed House with amendment (62-Y 35-N 0-A)

lower

Mar 4, 2026

Introduced

Engrossed by House as amended

lower

Mar 4, 2026

Lower · Passed

Delegate Price Floor amendment agreed to

lower

Mar 4, 2026

Amended

committee amendment rejected

lower

Mar 4, 2026

Introduced

Floor offered Delegate Price Amendment

lower

Mar 4, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed by temporarily

lower

Mar 2, 2026

Lower · Passed

House committee offered

lower

Feb 27, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported from Privileges and Elections with amendment(s) (14-Y 7-N)

lower

Feb 5, 2026

Committee

Referred to Committee on Privileges and Elections

lower

Feb 2, 2026

Upper · Passed

Read third time and passed Senate (21-Y 19-N 0-A)

upper

Jan 29, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed by for the day

upper

Jan 29, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed by for the day (Voice Vote)

upper

Jan 27, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported from Privileges and Elections with substitute (8-Y 6-N)

upper

Jan 13, 2026

Committee

Referred to Committee on Privileges and Elections

upper

1 primary · 6 co-sponsors