The disAbility Law Center of Virginia seeks to promote independence and self-determination for people with disabilities. One of the greatest expressions of independence and self-determination is the ability to vote. It is our commitment that no one should lose the right to vote arbitrarily. People who need the assistance of guardians should not automatically lose their right to vote. Unfortunately, in Virginia, guardianship orders routinely strip away voting rights.
The 2026 legislature has been revisiting proposals to protect the voting rights of people with disabilities. One proposal that passed last year was vetoed by the Governor. It has been re-introduced this year with greater hope for passage. A second proposal is for a constitutional amendment, which did pass last year and was not subject to veto. However, resolutions calling for constitutional amendments have to be introduced and passed in two different years, so this will be the second year for that resolution.
HJ 2 (Bennett-Parker) and SJ2 (Locke) set up a constitutional referendum to voters in November 2026 to amend the Virginia Constitution to state that the right to vote shall not be abridged by law, except if a person has been found to lack the specific capacity to understand the act of voting. The General Assembly dealt with these resolutions quickly. The House passed HJ2 on January 14, followed by the Senate passing the resolution on January 16. The Senate passed SJ2 on January 15, 2026, and it was referred to the House Committee on Privileges and Elections on January 20, 2026. The House Committee typically meets on Friday mornings and we expect that HJ2 will be heard by the committee soon.
Senator Favola and Delegate Tran introduced legislation last year that sought to fix the issue without the need for a constitutional amendment. Their proposals provided that finding someone to be in need of a guardianship is not the same thing as finding that they are mentally incompetent for the purpose of voting. The bills required a court to make a finding of mental incompetence by clear and convincing evidence that the person does not understand the act of voting. Although these bills were vetoed by the Governor last year, this year’s HB 1014 (Tran) and SB 34 (Favola) reintroduced the language. HB 1014 was referred to the House Privileges and Elections, Voting Rights subcommittee, who approved the bill and reported it back to the House Privileges and Elections committee for consideration. As mentioned above, the Committee typically meets on Friday mornings. SB 34 was referred to by the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee to the Senate Courts of Justice Committee on January 20, 2026. The Courts of Justice Committee usually meets on Monday mornings and Wednesday afternoons.
Our mission is to advance independence, choice and self-determination; protect legal, human and civil rights; and eliminate abuse, neglect and discrimination of people with disabilities through zealous and uncompromising legal advocacy and representation. We are available to educate policy makers about the potential impact of legislative proposals. Please let us know of any legislation that you think we should be following, by emailing us ga@dlcv.org