Three Questions
Vote the Whole Ballot
Virginia voters will decide three amendments to the state constitution. Here is what each one says, what it changes, and how we got here.
Right to Reproductive Freedom
Adds Article I, §11-A · HJ 1 / HB 781
Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended to (i) protect the freedom to make personal decisions about prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, birth control, abortion, miscarriage management, and fertility care; (ii) protect doctors, nurses, and patients from being punished for these decisions; and (iii) allow for restrictions on access to abortion during the third trimester of pregnancy except when the patient's health is at risk or the pregnancy cannot survive?
The Virginia Constitution does not explicitly provide a right to reproductive freedom, nor does it explicitly protect or prohibit certain kinds of health care procedures or decisions.
Adds a fundamental right to make and carry out decisions about one's own reproductive care. The state may regulate abortion in the third trimester, but any such law must allow it when medically needed to protect the patient's life or health, or if the fetus is not viable.
How We Got Here
Marriage Equality
Amends Article I, §15-A · HJ 3 / HB 612
Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended to (i) remove the ban on same-sex marriage; (ii) affirm that two adults may marry regardless of sex, gender, or race; and (iii) require all legally valid marriages to be treated equally under the law?
Virginia's Constitution still prohibits marriage between persons of the same sex or gender. The ban is unenforceable under Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) — but if that ruling were ever overturned, it would become enforceable again.
Removes the ban from the Bill of Rights and replaces it with a fundamental right to marry, requiring Virginia to recognize and treat equally any lawful marriage between two adults, regardless of sex, gender, or race.
How We Got Here
Restoration of Voting Rights
Amends Article II, §1 · HJ 2
Should the Constitution be amended (i) to provide a fundamental right to vote, (ii) so a person convicted of a felony cannot vote during incarceration but is automatically restored upon release, and (iii) to update the prohibition on voting by persons found incompetent to instead apply to persons found to lack the capacity to understand the act of voting?
A felony conviction means losing the right to vote for life unless the Governor restores it person by person — the only path back. People found incapacitated by a court also lose the vote, under outdated terminology.
Enshrines a fundamental right to vote. A conviction removes it only during incarceration, and it returns automatically on release with no application. Losing the vote for incapacity requires a specific court finding.
How We Got Here
Three things to do before November 3
- 1 Check your registration
Confirm your name and address are correct in the Citizen Portal, even if you think you don't need to.
vote.elections.virginia.gov → - 2 Vote the whole ballot
Every Virginian votes for one US Senate seat, one US House seat, and all three amendments — which sit at the end of the ballot, sometimes on the back.
- 3 Vote early
Early voting opens Friday, September 18. Voting by mail? Use a drop box rather than USPS, and drop it off early.