Virginia 2023
Virginia Election Information
Due to the late finalization of the 2020 census by the previous federal administration, Virginia is finally voting with its new redistricted districts for both the House of Delegates and the state Senate.
House of Delegates
All 100 districts in the House are up for reelection in November 2023 for two-year terms.
In the 2020 election, Biden won in Virginia by a strong margin of 10.1% with Virginia becoming a fully Blue state. Unfortunately, the state switched back to Red in 2021 with the election of a fascist governor.
In 2021 Democrats lost control of the House of Delegates and the Governor's mansion. The Republicans have been very busy turning over rights for voting, healthcare, education, and LGBTQ+. It's critical that the Democrats flip the 3 seats needed to regain control of the House and restore Virginia to a functioning Democracy.
State Senate
All seats in the State Senate are up for election in 2023. It's critical that Democrats maintain control of the Senate. All seats have been redistricted.
Virginia Democrats' Accomplishments
Democrats controlled the Virginia legislature from January 2020 until December 2021, the first time since 1997. In one year of action, Democrats passed new laws that dramatically improved the lives of Virginians. A small sampling of these bills is below. Unfortunately, the Republicans are busy reversing the gains and taking aways rights and freedoms.
- The Voting Rights Act will protect voters against discrimination based on race, color or language. Any changes to voting rules by local election officials will have to go through a review process. (HB 1890, 2021)
- Absentee mail-in voting is now available to everyone, without requiring a reason. (HB 1, 2020)
- A permanent absentee voter list is established and voters automatically receive a ballot in the mail for every election. (HB 207)
- Drop-off boxes increased to make it easier to vote. (SB 1245)
- Photo ID no longer required to vote. (HB 19 and HB 213, 2020)
- Easier to register to vote
- Same-day voter registration will be allowed effective October 1, 2022. (HB 201, 2020)
- Citizens automatically registered through the DMV. (HB 235, 2020)
- Two bills set up a pilot program to institute ranked-choice voting in local elections. (HB 506 and HB 1103, 2020)
- Election day is now a holiday. (HB 108, SB 601, 2020)
- 16- and 17-year-olds allowed to pre-register to vote and automatically registered at18. (HB 2125, HJ 555 2021 Special Session 1)
- Public high schools are required to provide voter registration information to voting age students. (HB 1491, 2020)
- Restoration of voting rights for felons after completing their sentences. This proposed constitutional amendment has passed the General Assembly but must pass again in another legislative session (another reason to keep Democratic control). Then, the amendment goes to the voters. (SJ 272, HJ 555, 2021 Special Session 1)
- Death penalty, which disproportionately affects people of color, abolished. (HB 2263, 2021 Special Session 1)
- No-knock police searches banned, Breonna's Law. (HB 5099, 2020 Special Session 1)
- Limits the use chokeholds by the police. (HB 5069, 2020 Special Session 1)
- Mandates training for police on racial bias, de-escalation and crisis intervention. Requires psychological evaluation of a police officer before hiring. (HB 5109, 2020 Special Session 1)
- Sentencing of those convicted of crimes done by a judge instead of a jury, as in most other states. Juries in Virginia without sentencing guidelines often resulted in sentences longer than what a judge would give. (SB 5007, 2020 Special Session 1)
- Criminal records will be sealed for nine misdemeanor charges after seven years if no additional crimes. (SB 1339, 2021)
- The Virginia Clean Economy Act (HB 1526, 2020) was passed. This bill will create thousands of jobs, 29,000 in solar alone. In addition:
- Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power to be 100% carbon-free by 2045 and 2050 respectively.
- All coal plants to close by 2024.
- Establishes energy efficiency standards, with third party review of progress
- Reduces costs for low-income customers.
- Advances wind energy.
- Requires Dominion to prioritize hiring from disadvantaged populations, advances job training, environmental and fisheries harm reduction
- Advances solar and distributed generation, expands net-metering for rooftop solar, requires Dominion and Appalachian to develop 3100MW of energy storage capacity.
- Environmental justice is a big part of the VCEA as it reduces costs of energy and provides for solar options for for low-income people. It includes rate-payer protections, energy reliability, and transparency when plans affect communities/jobs.
- The Clean Energy and Community Flood Preparedness Act passed to provide cleaner air and sustainable, cleaner energy. (HB 981, 2020)
- VA joins the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a carbon cap-and-trade program to reduce emissions in a manner that protects consumers. Last year’s Republican-led budget specifically prohibited VA from joining the RGGI, which provides millions in rebates to the state.
- Creation of a Virginia Community Flood Preparedness Fund to enhance flood solutions and coastal resilience.
- The Clean Car bill will improve fuel efficiency standards starting in 2025. (HB 1965, 2021)
- Protect workers against misclassification, presumed to be an employee unless the employer demonstrates otherwise. (HB 984, 2020)
- Prohibits retaliation against employees if a worker is misclassified the worker and employer fails to pay required pay or benefits. (HB 1199, 2020)
- Increases the minimum wage from $7.25 per hour to $9.50 per hour on May 1, 2021, gradually increasing it to $12 by 2023. Additional provisions to increase to $15 by 2026 will require action from the General Assembly by July 1, 2024. (HB 395, 2020)
- Paid sick leave required for some essential workers. (HB 2137, 2021)
- Workers' comp benefits for health care workers who contract COVID. (HB 1985, 2021)
- Protection against "surprise medical billing." (HB 1251, 2020)
- The Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act allows consumers to control how their personal data will be used by large companies. (SB 1392, 2021)
Equal Rights Amendment – Virginia ratified the ERA, becoming the 38th state to do so. (HJ 1, 2020)
Reproductive Rights
New bill (HB 980 in 2020) make abortion legally more accessible, eliminating medically-unnecessary obstacles.
- Eliminates the 24-hour waiting period before an abortion can be performed.
- Eliminates required ultrasounds.
- Eliminates a mandated speech by providers to discuss abortion alternatives.
- Allows nurse practitioners to provide abortions in the first trimester.
Our ISSUE Reports AND MEDIA bundles
Read here for our latest in-depth research reports supporting Democratic state district campaigns.
Gun Violence:
An Issue Republicans Refuse to Address
An Issue Republicans Refuse to Address
“Red states” (defined as states that voted for Trump in 2020) suffer gun mortality rates much higher than “blue states” (states voting for Biden in 2020.)
In response to the increasing number of mass shootings and other gun violence, Republican state legislators have worked to expand access to guns, roll back red flag laws and remove permit requirements for open or concealed carry.
Following the 2019 election in which both houses of the Virginia legislature went Democratic, the legislature passed seven bills regulating guns, ranging from background checks to red flag laws to limits on handgun purchases. This effort raised Virginia by some measures to having the 14th strongest gun laws in the nation.
However, Republicans captured the House of Delegates in 2021, and further efforts at gun regulation in the Legislature have been blocked by the Republican-controlled House. Likewise, Republican efforts to loosen gun laws have been blocked by the Democratic-controlled Senate. The lesson is clear—there is progress on reduction of gun violence under Democrats, but the reverse is true under Republicans.
Voters interested in seeing sensible gun regulations enacted have only one choice: elect Democrats.
Visit our Criminal Justice page for our Issue Report and Talking Points and for numerous creative assets to use in your social media feeds:
Guns: Legal Landscape - July 10, 2023
Police Violence - June 8, 2023
BIRTH CONTROL AND ABORTION BANS
Making birth control widely available is an obvious strategy for decreasing the number of abortions.
That is, unless you are a Republican. In fact, the opposite is occurring: some Republicans are trying to limit access to birth control. Unsurprisingly, this is not happening in blue states. In Virginia, the
Democratic-controlled Senate currently provides a backstop against this kind of legislation.
However, should Republicans in Virginia take control of both legislative bodies after the 2023
elections, Virginians should not be surprised to find that they also face limits on access to some types of birth control.
Ranked Choice Voting
In traditional voting, candidates can win elections with a plurality of votes—meaning they get more votes than any other candidate—but without receiving more than half the votes.
In ranked choice voting, also called instant runoff, voters rank their preferences. Their first-choice candidate may not win, but possibly another of their preferred candidates will.
Read our report for complete details at this link: