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Virginia bills · 2026 Regular Session

Virginia SB 162

Voter registration; restoration of political rights upon release from incarceration.

  1. Introduced
  2. In committee
  3. Passed Senate
  4. Passed House
  5. To Governor
  6. Became law

Sponsors

Summary

Official abstract published by the Virginia legislature· SUMMARY AS PASSED

Voter registration; restoration of political rights upon release from incarceration; certain adjudications. Provides that any person who loses his political rights as a result of a felony conviction shall be invested with those rights upon his release from incarceration and shall be entitled to register to vote. The bill directs the Department of Corrections and the State Board of Local and Regional Jails to transmit to the Department of Elections certain information for incarcerated persons with a pending date of release and requires the Department of Elections to process the information and make the necessary changes to the voter registration system to permit such persons to register to vote by the date of the person's scheduled date of release. On the date of an incarcerated person's release, the appropriate authority is required by the bill to provide a voter registration application, information on returning the form by mail or completing it by electronic means, and an official release document to serve as a safety net for voter registration. The bill also amends the language regarding adjudications of mental incompetency for purposes of being qualified to vote; a person adjudicated to lack the capacity to understand the act of voting shall not be entitled to vote until that capacity has been reestablished. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027, contingent upon the approval of the constitutional amendments at the November 3, 2026, general election. This bill is identical to HB 964.

Text versions

Roll-call votes

State vote data last updated Oct 15, 2026, 8:04 PM.

DateVoteResultYour legislators
Feb 27, 2026
Senate		Concur House Substitute RpassSet your home in Virginia to see
Feb 27, 2026
Senate		Reconsider RpassSet your home in Virginia to see
Feb 27, 2026
Senate		Concur House Substitute RfailSet your home in Virginia to see
Feb 25, 2026
House		H VOTE:passSet your home in Virginia to see
Feb 20, 2026
House		Reported from Privileges and Elections with substitutepassSet your home in Virginia to see
Feb 13, 2026
Senate		Passage RpassSet your home in Virginia to see
Feb 11, 2026
Senate		Constitutional reading dispensed RpassSet your home in Virginia to see
Feb 10, 2026
Senate		Reported from Finance and AppropriationspassSet your home in Virginia to see
Feb 3, 2026
Senate		Reported from Privileges and Elections with amendmentpassSet your home in Virginia to see

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