The House Privileges and Elections committee introduced three joint resolutions to amend the Virginia Constitution on Wednesday. These amendments addressed voting rights, marriage equality and reproductive rights.

The first amendment proposes changes to the process of reinstating the voting rights of individuals who are released from prison. Current state law tasks the governor’s office with reinstating voters at the governor’s discretion.

Critics of the current law believe the process for regaining the right to vote should not belong to the governor, and instead should offer a clear and consistent path forward for those who are formerly incarcerated.

 Richard Walker, executive director of Bridging the Gap Virginia and a formerly incarcerated person, speaks in support of Constitutional Amendment HJ2 during a House Privileges and Elections Committee hearing Wednesday, Nov. 13, at the General Assembly Building. HJ2 proposes a constitutional amendment to restore political rights, including voting rights, to individuals with felony convictions upon release from incarceration.
 

Delegate Elizabeth Bennett-Parker patroned the bill. Virginia is the only state that permanently removes voting rights from people with felony convictions unless they petition the governor, Bennett-Parker said.

“The disenfranchisement of people with felony convictions is a relic of Virginia’s Jim Crow past,” Bennet-Parker said. “It was intentionally inserted into the 1902 Virginia constitution to disenfranchise as many Black voters as possible.”

Sheba Williams told the committee that she was wrongfully convicted of a felony in 2004 and regained her right to vote in 2013 after former Gov. Bob McDonnell issued an executive order.

“They’re using voting as if it’s a privilege, (but) it is a right,” Williams said. “It’s a right that’s in our Constitution.”

HJ 2 passed by committee with a vote of 12-9.

Currently, the state constitution still defines marriage as a union between one man and one woman. HJ 9, patroned by Del. Mark D. Sickles seeks to update the constitution by recognizing marriage as “one of the vital personal rights essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness.”

Delegate Sickles referred to the language of the current law as “fuzzy and vague,” and hopes that Virginia voters will appreciate a more inclusive definition.

“I think our straightforward amendment will be welcomed by Virginia citizens, and so I’m really appreciative of the vote today in committee,” Sickles said.

HJ 9 passed 16-5, with four Republican delegates in favor. Delegate Sickles appreciated the "bipartisan support.”

HJ 1, introduced by Delegate Charniele L. Herring, intends to add a section to the constitution which guarantees the “fundamental right to reproductive freedom.” 

The amendment would prevent government infringement on an individual’s freedom to make their own health and family planning decisions.

Recent Supreme Court decisions have allowed states to enact “dangerous abortion bans,” according to Herring. “Virginia is on a path of joining states that have passed Constitutional Amendments protecting access to reproductive health care in the wake of Dobbs,” Herring said.

HJ 1 passed by committee with a vote of 12-9.

In order to amend the Virginia Constitution, the amendments must be voted on by citizens. Delegate Sickles said he expects these amendments to appear on ballots in 2026.