A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 24.2-404, 24.2-427, and 24.2-428 of the Code of Virginia, relating to voter registration; regular periodic review of registration records; 90-day quiet period before all primary and general elections.
HB28 is a voter-registration maintenance bill that revises how Virginia’s Department of Elections and general registrars keep the statewide voter rolls current. It updates procedures for deleting ineligible voters, retaining records of removed voters, distributing pollbooks and voter lists, and reporting on list-maintenance activities. The bill also requires the Department to seek participation in the federal SAVE Program to verify citizenship status and sets new notice and response procedures for voters identified as potentially noncitizens.
The bill also changes the timing of voter-roll maintenance by creating a 90-day quiet period before primary and general elections for any systematic program that removes voters based on computerized data matching or other non-individualized review. It preserves certain exceptions, such as removals for death, felony conviction, incapacity, or a voter’s own request, and allows corrections to registration details that do not remove a voter. In addition, it adjusts deadlines and notice requirements for cancellations based on noncitizenship reports and clarifies procedures for address-change maintenance and inactive status.
HB28 would amend §§ 24.2-404, 24.2-427, and 24.2-428 of the Code of Virginia, affecting the state’s voter registration system, local general registrars, and the Department of Elections. It would require faster or more structured processing of some cancellation and maintenance actions, add SAVE Program participation and related rulemaking, and bar systematic voter-removal programs within 90 days of primary and general elections. The bill would also affect how voter records are retained, how notices are sent, and how address changes and inactive status are handled.
The bill appears to have been supported in committee, as it was continued to the next session on a 15-0 vote in the House Privileges and Elections Committee, indicating no recorded opposition at that stage. The available record does not include floor debate or committee transcript excerpts, so the overall sentiment can only be inferred from the unanimous committee action. The measure’s structure suggests it was treated as a technical but significant election-administration bill.
The main points of contention likely center on the 90-day restriction on systematic voter-roll maintenance and the expanded use of citizenship-verification tools, especially the SAVE Program. Supporters would view these provisions as improving accuracy and preventing improper removals, while critics may see them as limiting routine list maintenance close to elections and creating risks of erroneous cancellation or voter confusion. The bill’s detailed notice-and-response procedures for alleged noncitizenship also suggest concern about due process and the balance between election integrity and voter access.