# Virginia HB967: Voting Rights Act of Virginia; revises provisions. Virginia HB967, Voting Rights Act of Virginia; revises provisions., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Marcia S. "Cia" Price (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-13 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0717)) (as of 2026-10-12). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB967-2026 - As of: 2026-10-12 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Virginia HB967 - State: Virginia - Session: 2026 Regular Session - Title: Voting Rights Act of Virginia; revises provisions. - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2026-01-13 - Last action: 2026-04-13, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0717) - Sponsor: Marcia S. "Cia" Price (Democratic) - Cosponsors: 0 - Touches household money: no - Roll calls: 10 (225 yes, 109 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 4 ## Summary Elections; Voting Rights Act of Virginia. Revises provisions of the Voting Rights Act of Virginia (the Act) by (i) clarifying the legal standards for evaluating claims of alleged voter suppression and vote dilution, (ii) providing guidance to the courts to follow when determining whether a violation of the prohibition against voter suppression or vote dilution has occurred, and (iii) outlining the factors that the courts are permitted to consider and those factors that the courts are prohibited from considering. The bill expands the class of persons who may initiate a cause of action for an alleged violation of the Act to include organizations whose membership includes members of a protected class, organizations whose mission would be frustrated by a violation of the Act, and organizations that would expend resources in order to fulfill their mission as a result of a violation of the Act. The population thresholds for a locality to be designated as a covered locality for purposes of minority language accessibility pursuant to the Act are also amended. Current law designates a locality as a covered locality if, in the locality, (a) more than five percent of the voting age population or (b) more than 10,000 of the voting age population are members of a single language minority and are unable to speak or understand English adequately enough to participate in the electoral process; the bill reduces those thresholds from five to three percent and from 10,000 to 5,000. The bill contains technical amendments for organizational purposes. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Court access for harmed Virginia voters: benefit, medium. People harmed by voting-rights violations can sue in the circuit court where the violation occurred. Organizations can sue based on protected or harmed members, interference with their mission, or resources spent because of a violation. Someone entitled to challenge one district can challenge the e… - More language help for minority voters: benefit, medium. Covered localities must provide election materials in English and the applicable minority language. Coverage applies when a single language minority exceeds 3% or 5,000 voting-age citizens who lack enough English to participate. For localities containing reservation land, coverage applies above 3%… - Stronger voting protections for minority voters: benefit, medium. Virginia and local governments cannot use voting rules that deny or limit rights based on race, color, or language-minority membership. Local election methods also cannot weaken these groups’ equal chance to nominate, elect, or influence candidates. Courts consider the full situation, including vot… - Voters get review before election changes: benefit, medium. Localities must complete public review or obtain Attorney General clearance before covered election changes take effect. Covered changes include election methods, district or ward lines, language-service limits, and polling-place reductions, moves, or mergers. Boundary changes also qualify when the… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Marcia S. "Cia" Price (Democratic), House ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-03-06 | House | Senate amendments agreed to by House | pass | 62 | 35 | | | 2026-03-04 | Senate | Committee amendments agreed to | pass | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-03-04 | Senate | Passed Senate with amendments | pass | 21 | 18 | | | 2026-03-03 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) | pass | 40 | 0 | | | 2026-03-03 | Senate | Reported from Finance and Appropriations | pass | 10 | 5 | | | 2026-03-03 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-02-24 | Senate | Reported from Privileges and Elections with amendments and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations | pass | 8 | 7 | | | 2026-02-12 | House | Read third time and passed House | pass | 63 | 35 | | | 2026-02-06 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting | pass | 6 | 2 | | | 2026-02-06 | House | Reported from Privileges and Elections | pass | 15 | 7 | | ## Actions (31) - 2026-04-13: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0717) (Governor) - 2026-04-13: Approved by Governor-Chapter 717 (effective 7/1/2026) (Governor) - 2026-03-16: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB967) (House) - 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) - 2026-03-13: Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB967ER) (House) - 2026-03-13: Enrolled (House) - 2026-03-13: Signed by President (Senate) - 2026-03-13: Signed by Speaker (House) - 2026-03-06: Senate amendments agreed to by House (62-Y 35-N 0-A) (House) - 2026-03-04: Passed Senate with amendments (21-Y 18-N 0-A) (Senate) - 2026-03-04: Committee amendments agreed to (Senate) - 2026-03-04: Engrossed by Senate as amended (Senate) - 2026-03-04: Read third time (Senate) - 2026-03-03: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate) - 2026-03-03: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate) - 2026-03-03: Rules suspended (Senate) - 2026-03-03: Reported from Finance and Appropriations (10-Y 5-N) (Senate) - 2026-02-24: Senate committee offered (Senate) - 2026-02-24: Reported from Privileges and Elections with amendments and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (8-Y 7-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 (63-Y 35-N 0-A) (House) - 2026-02-11: Read second time and engrossed (House) - 2026-02-11: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB967) (House) - 2026-02-10: Read first time (House) - 2026-02-06: Reported from Privileges and Elections (15-Y 7-N) (House) - 2026-02-06: Subcommittee recommends reporting (6-Y 2-N) (House) - 2026-02-03: Assigned HPE sub: Voting Rights (House) - 2026-01-13: Referred to Committee on Privileges and Elections (House) - 2026-01-13: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26101432D (House) ## Bill text - Chaptered, 2026-04-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1222251.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1222250.PDF) - Enrolled, 2026-03-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1203395.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1203394.PDF) - Amendment, 2026-03-04: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1194829.HTML) - Amendment, 2026-02-25: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1179377.HTML) - Amendment, 2026-02-24: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1178761.HTML) - Introduced, 2026-01-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1086716.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1086715.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/1222251.HTML) - [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1222250.PDF) - [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1203395.HTML) - [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1203394.PDF) - [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1194829.HTML) - [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1179377.HTML) - [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1178761.HTML) - [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1086716.HTML) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1086715.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) - [Virginia bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/virginia/bills) - [Virginia state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/virginia) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB967-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).