A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 24.2-612 and 24.2-646.1 of the Code of Virginia and to repeal § 24.2-453 of the Code of Virginia, relating to elections; Uniform Military and Overseas Voters Act; restrictions on ballot eligibility; repeal.
HB213 amends Virginia election law to change how official paper ballots are used and to update procedures tied to absentee and overseas voting. The bill revises § 24.2-612 to require general registrars to send candidate qualification lists to the Department of Elections, to notify disqualified candidates by email or regular mail, and to make absentee ballots available by a specified deadline, with reporting requirements if that deadline is missed. It also authorizes the Department of Elections to provide a statewide paper ballot style for presidential and vice-presidential electors for voters who are eligible to vote only for those offices or only in federal elections.
The bill further narrows and clarifies when an official paper ballot may be used under § 24.2-646.1, listing specific circumstances such as precincts using paper ballots only, absentee voting, provisional voting, emergency use when equipment is unavailable, and presidential or federal-only voting. Finally, HB213 repeals § 24.2-453, which is tied to federal-only voting under the Uniform Military and Overseas Voters Act, indicating a restructuring of how Virginia handles ballot eligibility for certain military and overseas voters.
If enacted, HB213 would modify election administration duties for local registrars and the Department of Elections, especially regarding ballot printing, absentee ballot availability, and verification of candidate lists. It would also affect military and overseas voters, federal-only voters, and presidential-only voters by changing the statutory framework governing their ballot access and by repealing a related code section. The bill would amend two election statutes and repeal one, thereby altering the legal rules for paper ballot issuance and certain special-category voters.
Based on the available legislative history, the bill does not show recorded floor debate or committee testimony, but it was ultimately stricken from the docket in the Privileges and Elections Committee by a unanimous 21-0 vote. That outcome suggests the measure did not advance and that committee members were not prepared to move it forward in its introduced form. The absence of recorded votes or discussion limits the ability to identify broader public sentiment, but the committee action indicates clear lack of support or interest in proceeding.
The main points of potential contention are the bill’s treatment of ballot eligibility for military, overseas, and federal-only voters, and the repeal of § 24.2-453, which may have been viewed as unnecessary or disruptive to existing election procedures. The bill also imposes additional administrative requirements on registrars, including reporting deadlines and ballot availability obligations, which could raise concerns about implementation burdens. Because there was no recorded committee discussion, the specific objections are not documented, but the unanimous committee disposition indicates that any concerns were sufficient to stop the bill before further consideration.