Constitutional amendment (second reference); qualifications of voters and the right to vote; persons not entitled to vote.
Summary
Constitutional amendment (second reference); qualifications of voters and the right to vote; persons not entitled to vote. Provides that every person who meets the qualifications of voters set forth in the Constitution shall have the fundamental right to vote in the Commonwealth and that such right shall not be abridged by law, except for persons who have been convicted of a felony and persons who have been adjudicated to lack the capacity to understand the act of voting. A person who has been convicted of a felony shall not be entitled to vote during any period of incarceration for such felony conviction, but upon release from incarceration for that felony conviction and without further action required of him such person shall be invested with all political rights, including the right to vote. Currently, in order to be qualified to vote a person convicted of a felony must have his civil rights restored by the Governor or other appropriate authority. The amendment also provides that a person adjudicated by a court of competent jurisdiction as lacking the capacity to understand the act of voting shall not be entitled to vote during this period of incapacity until his capacity has been reestablished as prescribed by law. Currently, the Constitution provides that a person who has been adjudicated to be mentally incompetent is not qualified to vote until his competency is reestablished.
Bill status
passed both
4 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Nov 2025
Committee Review
Jan 2026
Senate Passage
Mar 2026
House of Delegates Passage
Mar 2026
Governor
Introduced Nov 17, 2025
Last action Mar 31, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison
What changed between versions
Introduced
→
Enrolled
·
3 edits
·
Mar 31, 2026
MINOR
The bill transitioned from an introduced draft to an enrolled final version, reflecting its successful passage by the Virginia General Assembly. The substantive policy text regarding voter qualifications remains identical, but the document now includes official dates of agreement and formal formatting required for submission to the Secretary of the Commonwealth.
TIMELINE
Added specific dates indicating the bill was agreed to by the Senate on January 16, 2026, and the House of Delegates on February 2, 2026.
TECHNICAL
Replaced the 'Introduced' status with 'Enrolled' and added official chapter headers and bill identifiers (SJ2ER) to finalize the legislative process.
Reformatted the text to include spacing and alignment consistent with official enrolled bills, while retaining the exact same voter qualification language.
Floor votes · Senate Jan 16, 2026 · House of Delegates Feb 2, 2026
How they voted
21–18
Passed · 1 other
Total votes 40
Jan 16, 2026
D
Democratic21
100% Yea
R
Republican19
94% Nay
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
20
Key actions
7
Committee
4
Amendments
3
Mar 31, 2026
Lower · Passed
Signed by Speaker
lower
Mar 30, 2026
Upper · Passed
Signed by President
upper
Mar 30, 2026
Upper · Passed
Bill text as passed Senate and House (SJ2ER)
upper
Feb 2, 2026
House Of Delegates · Passed
House of Delegates Vote: pass (49-33-6)
house of delegates
Jan 30, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported from Privileges and Elections (15-Y 7-N)
lower
Jan 20, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee on Privileges and Elections
lower
Jan 16, 2026
Senate · Passed
Senate Vote: pass (21-18-1)
senate
Jan 15, 2026
Amended
Senator McDougle, Ryan T. Amendments rejected (19-Y 20-N 0-A)
upper
Jan 15, 2026
Introduced
Reading of amendments waived
upper
Jan 15, 2026
Introduced
Floor offered Senator McDougle, Ryan T. Amendments
upper
Jan 14, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported from Privileges and Elections (8-Y 3-N 3-A)
upper
Nov 17, 2025
Committee
Referred to Committee on Privileges and Elections
upper
1 primary · 19 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Mamie Locke
DDemocratic
Co
Aaron Rouse
DDemocratic
Co
Adam Ebbin
DDemocratic
Co
Angelia Graves
DDemocratic
Co
Barbara Favola
DDemocratic
Co
Creigh Deeds
DDemocratic
Co
Dave Marsden
DDemocratic
Co
Ghazala Hashmi
DDemocratic
Co
Jennifer Boysko
DDemocratic
Co
Jennifer Carroll Foy
DDemocratic
Co
Jeremy McPike
DDemocratic
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