Voter registration; time period for closing registration records before certain elections.
Summary
HB1735 amends Virginia’s voter registration law to shorten the standard pre-election period during which registration records are closed. For primary and general elections, the closure period is reduced from 21 days to 10 days before the election. For special elections, the bill likewise shortens the closure period from 13 days to 10 days before most special elections, while preserving the existing six-day closure period for certain special elections called by the Governor, Speaker of the House of Delegates, President pro tempore of the Senate, or by rule or resolution of either house of the General Assembly.
The bill also adds a contingency for outages of the Virginia online voter registration system. If the system fails before the registration deadline, the Governor may extend online registration for a period equal to the outage time, rounded up to the nearest whole day, plus one additional day for voter education. During any such extension, in-person registration remains available and mailed voter registration applications must be accepted.
Impact
HB1735 changes Code of Virginia § 24.2-416 by altering the timing of when voter registration records close before elections, effectively giving voters more time to register before primary, general, and most special elections. It also creates an administrative remedy for online registration system outages by authorizing a temporary extension of online registration and requiring continued acceptance of in-person and mail registrations during that period. The bill affects election administrators, registrars, and prospective voters statewide.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have been broadly supported and noncontroversial in the legislative process. It advanced unanimously or near-unanimously through committee and the Senate, and passed the House with only three dissenting votes. The vote pattern suggests general agreement on shortening the registration closure window and on providing a backup mechanism if the online registration system is unavailable.
Contention
The main policy issue is the balance between expanding access to voter registration and maintaining election administration timelines. Supporters likely viewed the shorter closure period as improving voter access and aligning deadlines more closely with election day, while the outage provision addresses fairness if the online system fails. Any opposition appears limited, but the recorded no votes indicate some concern may have remained about changing established registration deadlines or the operational burden on election officials. No committee transcript was provided to identify more specific arguments.