A variety of bills on election administration are under consideration this session. Although sweeping changes to election administration are unlikely to be enacted this year, several items of note are under consideration.
Election timing: SJ 253 (Surovell) would establish a joint subcommittee of legislators and citizen members to study the consolidation and scheduling of general elections in Virginia, to include potential effects of moving some or all of Virginia’s state or local elections to even-numbered years in order to coincide with the federal election cycle. HB 1794 (Helmer)/SB 1119 (VanValkenburg) would require primaries for offices to be filled at the November election in Presidential election years to be held on the date of the presidential primary. SB 1119 has passed the Senate; HB 1794 was heard in a subcommittee of House Privileges and Elections on Monday evening and recommended for reporting. SJ 253 is on the Senate floor.
Specialized ballots: HB 1566 (Green) would have required that any ballot mailed to a voter must be printed on security paper that incorporates a visible watermark that identifies the ballot as an official ballot. VACo and others had expressed concerns to the patron regarding potential compliance costs, and the patron requested that the bill be stricken in subcommittee so that these concerns could be more fully addressed.
Surveillance cameras for drop-off locations: HB 2478 (Zehr) would have required that security standards set by the Department of Elections mandate 24-hour video surveillance of all drop-off locations for absentee ballots. Under current standards, 24-hour video surveillance is required for secured drop boxes, but not for all drop-off locations, which can include polling places on Election Day. Although the bill was intended to codify existing surveillance requirements, as introduced, it would have expanded this requirement to all drop-off locations, potentially imposing substantial costs on localities, as VACo pointed out in speaking to the bill in subcommittee. The bill failed to report from subcommittee.
Party ID on the ballot: HB 2139 (Walker) would have allowed a candidate for local office who has been nominated by a political party or in a primary election to be identified by the name of a political party, at the option of the candidate. This bill was passed by indefinitely in subcommittee.
Limitations on electioneering near polling places: Under current law, a variety of activities are prohibited within 40 feet of a polling place, including distributing campaign materials. SB 994 (Williams Graves) would expand this “prohibited area” to 100 feet. This bill was discussed in Senate Privileges and Elections last week, but a vote was postponed pending further consultation with elected officials, including local elected officials.
Public campaign financing for elected local offices: HB 1761 (Simon) would authorize the governing body of a county or city to establish a system of public campaign financing for elected local offices, with oversight from the State Board of Elections, and to provide for a public election fund, to be administered by the local treasurer. A locality could provide for more stringent regulation of campaign finance activity by participating candidates than otherwise provided, including regulations regarding contributions, expenditures, and reporting requirements, and could impose civil penalties for violations. This bill has not yet been heard.
In-person absentee voting and voter satellite offices: HB 2056 (Reaser) proposes to allow a local governing body to establish the dates and hours of operation for voter satellite offices used for absentee voting in person. Currently, the local governing body may establish the offices, but the dates and hours are set by the local electoral board. This bill was heard in subcommittee on Monday evening and recommended for reporting. SB 1175 (Suetterlein) would have required in-person absentee voting to be available between the hours of 8:00 and 5:00, Monday through Friday each week, and from 8:00-5:00 on the first Saturday, and the second Saturday and Sunday, immediately preceding all elections. Under current law, these offices must be open during regular business hours, Monday through Friday, and may be open on Sundays. The bill failed to report in Senate Privileges and Elections over concerns about imposing a strict requirement for certain hours of operations.
Ranked choice voting: SB 1009 (Salim) is similar to legislation considered last session. The bill would allow elections for any local office to be conducted by ranked choice voting (currently, this methodology is permitted for elections for members of a county board of supervisors or a city council). The bill provides that the decision to conduct an election by ranked-choice voting would remain with the local governing body, subject to a determination of technical feasibility by the State Board of Elections, and retains language requested by VACo last session providing that a county may require a town that opts to conduct a town election by ranked choice voting to reimburse the county for costs associated with conducting the election in this manner. The bill requires the State Board of Elections to provide standards for vote tabulating software; promulgate regulations for the conduct of elections using ranked choice voting; and review the testing and approval framework for voting equipment in the Commonwealth. This bill was reported from the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee and is now before the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee.
VACo Contact: Katie Boyle