An opinion from Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring appears to clear the way for Richmond City Council President Michelle R. Mosby to remain a candidate for mayor and for businessman Kevin A. Starlings to challenge incumbent School Board member Jeffrey M. Bourne for the 3rd District seat.

The Richmond Electoral Board, which is to meet Thursday, Sept. 1, is expected to embrace Mr. Herring’s legal advice and keep both candidates on the Nov. 8 ballot, the Free Press has been told in advance of the meeting.

Mr. Herring indicated in his opinion released last Friday that both candidates have the law on their side.

In the case of Ms. Mosby, Mr. Herring advised that the electoral board does not have to recheck the signatures of registered voters who signed her candidacy petitions if the board deemed those signatures valid at the time they were submitted.

Ms. Mosby, like other mayoral candidates, had to submit 500 signatures of qualified voters supporting her candidacy, including 50 from each of the nine city districts.

Richmond Voter Registrar Kirk Showalter determined Ms. Mosby submitted the 500 valid signatures, but later one was found to be of a felon whose registration to vote was revoked by a state Supreme Court ruling in mid-July.

That does not matter, Mr. Herring stated. According to state law, “the qualifications of individuals who sign or circulate candidate qualification petitions ‘are to be judged as of the day the petition was filed.’ ”

Ms. Mosby submitted her petitions a month before the court ruling.

Thus, Mr. Herring stated, the Richmond Electoral Board “is not legally required to re-examine the signatures due to later changes in the status of voters who signed the petitions.”

In the case of Mr. Starlings, he, too, can remain on the ballot, Mr. Herring stated, if the electoral board finds that at the time of the Nov. 8 election, he would be a qualified voter and legitimate resident of the district.

Mr. Starlings’ case is a bit more difficult. On April 22, he was among the 200,000 felons whose rights were restored by Gov. Terry McAuliffe in a blanket order allowing each to register to vote, run for office, serve on a jury or be a notary public.

Taking advantage, Mr. Starlings registered to vote and then qualified to be a candidate for the School Board seat.

But then his rights were revoked when the state Supreme Court overturned the governor’s order in mid-July, raising questions about whether he could still run.

Last week, Mr. Starlings was among the 13,000 people whose rights the governor restored on a case-by-case basis, enabling Mr. Starlings again to register to vote.

Mr. Herring stated that the Electoral Board “is not required to remove (Mr. Starling’s) name from the ballot” so long as he is qualified to serve should he win the election. Mr. Starling’s return to the voting rolls means he would be qualified, based on the opinion.