# Virginia HB835: Elections; candidates and elected officials, confidentiality of personally identifiable information.

Virginia HB835, Elections; candidates and elected officials, confidentiality of personally identifiable information., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Adele Y. McClure (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-06 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0228)) (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB835-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia HB835
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Elections; candidates and elected officials, confidentiality of personally identifiable information.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-13
- Last action: 2026-04-06, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0228)
- Sponsor: Adele Y. McClure (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 9 (254 yes, 64 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 2

## Summary

Elections; candidates and elected officials; address confidentiality. Prohibits the custodian of any filing made by a candidate from releasing the address, phone number, or email address of such candidate in response to a request made under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. The bill permits a candidate to provide the unique identifier assigned to him in the voter registration system pursuant to relevant law in place of his residence address on any candidate filing. The State Board of Elections is prohibited from requiring candidates to disclose their address or unique identifier on petitions prior to their being filed. The bill also adds elected officials to the list of people who may furnish, in addition to their residence street address, a post office box address located within the Commonwealth to be included in lieu of their street address on the lists of registered voters. The certificate of election delivered to the winner of an election is required to be accompanied by a notice that the person meets the qualifications for being granted protected voter status along with instructions for updating their voter registration in order to attain such status. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027. This bill is identical to SB 632.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Candidates gain privacy for personal information: benefit, low. Beginning January 1, 2027, Virginia candidate filing custodians need written consent to release candidates’ home addresses, phone numbers, or emails under public-records requests. Custodians must redact that information when consent is denied or candidates do not respond within five business days.…
- More voters can protect home addresses: benefit, low. Beginning January 1, 2027, current and former elected officials qualify for protected voter status in Virginia. Eligible groups also include people with protective orders or sworn statements describing safety fears because of threats or stalking. Qualifying people can use a Virginia post office box…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Adele Y. McClure (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-04 | House | Senate substitute agreed to by House | pass | 76 | 19 |   |
| 2026-03-02 | Senate | Passed Senate with substitute | pass | 21 | 19 |   |
| 2026-02-27 | Senate | Privileges and Elections Substitute agreed to | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-26 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-26 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-24 | Senate | Reported from Privileges and Elections with substitute | pass | 15 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-12 | House | Read third time and passed House | pass | 79 | 19 |   |
| 2026-02-06 | House | Reported from Privileges and Elections | pass | 17 | 5 |   |
| 2026-02-03 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting | pass | 6 | 2 |   |

## Actions (33)

- 2026-04-06: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0228) (Governor)
- 2026-04-06: Approved by Governor - Chapter 228 (effective - 1/1/2027) (Governor)
- 2026-03-14: Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 (Governor)
- 2026-03-14: Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 14, 2026 (House)
- 2026-03-12: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2026-03-11: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB835) (House)
- 2026-03-11: Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB835ER) (House)
- 2026-03-11: Enrolled (House)
- 2026-03-11: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2026-03-04: Senate substitute agreed to by House (76-Y 19-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-03-02: Passed Senate with substitute (21-Y 19-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-02-27: Privileges and Elections Substitute agreed to (Senate)
- 2026-02-27: Passed by for the day (Senate)
- 2026-02-27: Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute (Senate)
- 2026-02-27: Read third time (Senate)
- 2026-02-26: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB835) (House)
- 2026-02-26: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-02-26: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-02-26: Rules suspended (Senate)
- 2026-02-24: Committee substitute printed 26108499D-S1 (Senate)
- 2026-02-24: Senate committee offered (Senate)
- 2026-02-24: Reported from Privileges and Elections with substitute (15-Y 0-N) (Senate)
- 2026-02-13: Referred to Committee on Privileges and Elections (Senate)
- 2026-02-13: Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) (Senate)
- 2026-02-12: Read third time and passed House (79-Y 19-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-02-11: Read second time and engrossed (House)
- 2026-02-10: Read first time (House)
- 2026-02-06: Reported from Privileges and Elections (17-Y 5-N) (House)
- 2026-02-03: Subcommittee recommends reporting (6-Y 2-N) (House)
- 2026-02-02: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB835) (House)
- 2026-01-30: Assigned HPE sub: Campaigns and Candidates (House)
- 2026-01-13: Referred to Committee on Privileges and Elections (House)
- 2026-01-13: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26104684D (House)

## Bill text

- Chaptered, 2026-04-06: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216962.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216961.PDF)
- Enrolled, 2026-03-11: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1199353.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1199352.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-24: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1179140.HTML), [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1178755.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1179139.PDF), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1178754.PDF)
- Introduced, 2026-01-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1086106.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1086105.PDF)

## Related bills

- HB5: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties. (signed)
- SB199: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties. (signed)
- HB95: Va. Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord remedies, noncompliance with rental agreement. (signed)
- HB1393: Electric utilities; pilot program for energy assistance and weatherization for certain individuals. (signed)
- HB834: Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; fire or casualty damage, termination by landlord. (signed)
- HB675: Protection of employees; coercion or threat based on immigration status, civil penalty. (signed)

## Sources
- [Chaptered (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216962.HTML)
- [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216961.PDF)
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1199353.HTML)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1199352.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1179140.HTML)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1178755.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1179139.PDF)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1178754.PDF)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1086106.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1086105.PDF)

## Related
- [HB5: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB5-2026)
- [SB199: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB199-2026)
- [HB95: Va. Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord remedies, noncompliance with…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB95-2026)
- [HB1393: Electric utilities; pilot program for energy assistance and weatherization for…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1393-2026)
- [HB834: Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; fire or casualty damage, terminat…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB834-2026)
- [HB675: Protection of employees; coercion or threat based on immigration status, civil…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB675-2026)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB835-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).