HB 963 / SB 6: Virginia Puts Voting Rights Referendum on the November 2026 Ballot

February 6, 2026

Summary

HB 963 / SB 6 was enacted in February 2026. It provides for a referendum at the November 3, 2026, general election on an amendment to the Virginia constitution that would provide for the fundamental right to vote in the Commonwealth, revise the qualifications of voters so that a person convicted of a felony is not entitled to vote during their period of incarceration but is automatically vested with the right to vote upon release from incarceration, and update the existing prohibition on voting by persons found to be mentally incompetent to instead apply to persons who have been found to lack the capacity to understand the act of voting.

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