HB 964 VA

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To Executive

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 SB 162.

• Marcia S. "Cia" Price Democratic · primary

1. Jan 13, 2026 Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26100136D · lower
2. Jan 13, 2026 Referred to Committee on Privileges and Elections · lower
3. Feb 2, 2026 Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB964) · lower
4. Feb 3, 2026 Assigned HPE sub: Voting Rights · lower
5. Feb 6, 2026 House subcommittee offered · lower
6. Feb 6, 2026 Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendment(s) (6-Y 2-N) · lower
7. Feb 6, 2026 House committee offered · lower
8. Feb 6, 2026 Reported from Privileges and Elections with amendment(s) (16-Y 6-N) · lower
9. Feb 10, 2026 Read first time · lower
10. Feb 11, 2026 Read second time · lower
11. Feb 11, 2026 committee amendment agreed to · lower
12. Feb 11, 2026 Engrossed by House as amended · lower
13. Feb 12, 2026 Read third time and passed House (63-Y 34-N 0-A) · lower
14. Feb 13, 2026 Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) · upper
15. Feb 13, 2026 Referred to Committee on Privileges and Elections · upper
16. Feb 20, 2026 Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB964) · lower
17. Feb 24, 2026 Senate committee offered · upper
18. Feb 24, 2026 Reported from Privileges and Elections with substitute and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (8-Y 7-N) · upper
19. Feb 24, 2026 Committee substitute printed 26108576D-S1 · upper
20. Mar 2, 2026 Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB964) · lower
21. Mar 3, 2026 Reported from Finance and Appropriations (10-Y 5-N) · upper
22. Mar 3, 2026 Rules suspended · upper
23. Mar 3, 2026 Constitutional reading dispensed (on 2nd reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A) · upper
24. Mar 3, 2026 Passed by for the day (Voice Vote) · upper
25. Mar 4, 2026 Read third time · upper
26. Mar 4, 2026 Privileges and Elections Substitute agreed to · upper
27. Mar 4, 2026 Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute · upper
28. Mar 4, 2026 Passed Senate with substitute (21-Y 18-N 0-A) · upper
29. Mar 6, 2026 Senate substitute agreed to by House (63-Y 33-N 0-A) · lower
30. Mar 13, 2026 Enrolled · lower
31. Mar 13, 2026 Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB964ER) · lower
32. Mar 13, 2026 Signed by Speaker · lower
33. Mar 13, 2026 Signed by President · upper
34. Mar 14, 2026 Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 14, 2026 · lower
35. Mar 14, 2026 Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 · executive
36. Mar 16, 2026 Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB964) · lower
37. Apr 11, 2026 Governor's recommendation received by House · executive

The published texts of this bill as it moves through the legislature. Each links to the official document on the state legislature site. Data from OpenStates.

• Governor Substitute · PDF
• Governor Substitute · HTML
• Governor's Recommendation · HTML
• Enrolled · PDF
• Enrolled · HTML
• Privileges and Elections Substitute · PDF
• Privileges and Elections Substitute · HTML
• Privileges and Elections Substitute · PDF
• Privileges and Elections Substitute · HTML
• Engrossed · PDF
• Engrossed · HTML
• Voting Rights Subcommittee Amendment · HTML
• Privileges and Elections Amendment · HTML
• Privileges and Elections Amendment · HTML
• Introduced · PDF
• Introduced · HTML