# Virginia HB972: Voter registration; list maintenance activities, cancellation procedures, required record matches. Virginia HB972, Voter registration; list maintenance activities, cancellation procedures, required record matches., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Marcia S. "Cia" Price (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-05-14 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP1120)) (as of 2026-10-12). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB972-2026 - As of: 2026-10-12 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Virginia HB972 - State: Virginia - Session: 2026 Regular Session - Title: Voter registration; list maintenance activities, cancellation procedures, required record matches. - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2026-01-13 - Last action: 2026-05-14, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP1120) - 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: 12 ## Summary Voter registration; list maintenance activities, cancellation procedures, required record matches. Requires certain, specified identification information to be included on the lists received by the Department of Elections (the Department) for list maintenance purposes and requires the Department, upon receiving any such list, to do an initial comparison of the information included on such list with the list of registered voters and to determine the confidence score for any match. The Department is required to transmit matches with a confidence score of at least 80 to the appropriate general registrars. The bill prohibits the use of voter data received from another state or jurisdiction or through a list comparison for list maintenance purposes when the data file does not include a unique identifier for each individual whose information is contained in the data file. The bill requires the Department to annually review all sources of data utilized for list maintenance activities for the purpose of determining the validity, completeness, accuracy, and reliability of the data received from each source, and to include the results of such review in its annual report to the House and Senate Committees on Privileges and Elections regarding its list maintenance activities. The bill provides that the Department of Elections may only use the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements Program (SAVE Program) operated by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for the sole purpose of individually verifying that voters listed in the Virginia voter registration system are United States citizens. The Department of Elections is prohibited from (i) using information received from the SAVE Program as the sole reason for rejecting a registration application, (ii) uploading lists of registered voters to the SAVE Program for verifying their citizenship status in bulk, or (iii) transferring any information to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security or any subdivision thereof beyond the minimum information necessary. The bill requires the general registrars to send notice prior to cancelling a voter's registration regardless of the reason for cancellation. Lastly, the bill clarifies that when a voter's registration is cancelled, a cancellation record must be created, and that such records are public in accordance with the Virginia Freedom of Information Act and the National Voter Registration Act. The bill includes numerous technical amendments for organizational purposes. Certain provisions of the bill have a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027. This bill incorporates HB 966. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Some movers keep their old polling place: benefit, medium. Voters moving within the same registrar's area and congressional district can keep voting in their old precinct through the second following federal general election. This applies only if they did not answer the required notice and their registration has not been transferred or cancelled. At the po… - Stronger safeguards before voter registration cancellation: benefit, medium. A potential record match cannot support cancellation without matching a full Social Security number or Virginia motor vehicle customer number. The State Board of Elections must also set a confidence-score threshold. Only matches meeting that threshold go to local registrars to begin the cancellatio… - Preregistered young voters get automatic registration: benefit, low. Virginia automatically registers people who have preregistered to vote when they become eligible or turn 18, whichever happens first. They do not need a separate registration step at that point. - Voters can request registration cancellation: benefit, low. You can cancel your Virginia voter registration by giving your local registrar a signed written authorization. For cancellation to count for an election, authorization must be made at least 22 days before that election. That deadline does not apply to authorization made in person or notarized. The… - Cancelled voter records stay longer: benefit, low. Beginning July 1, 2027, Virginia registrars keep cancelled voter registration records for four years instead of two. The required cancellation records also remain for four years from cancellation. This changes recordkeeping, not household payments or costs. - Virginia expands voter record checks: benefit, low. Virginia sends election officials weekly death records for people age 17 or older who died in the state. By July 1 each year, officials check Social Security death records and receive a comprehensive felony-conviction list from State Police. That felony list covers convictions regardless of when th… - Some voters lose mailed cancellation notices: cost, low. Local registrars no longer have to mail a cancellation notice after cancellation based on the specified noncitizenship report. This removes a required way for affected people to learn their registration was cancelled. It does not create a new reason to cancel registration. - Gambling license reviews get disclosure exemptions: cost, low. The law exempts certain Virginia Lottery Board casino-license deliberations and related investigations from mandatory public disclosure. Covered actions include operator-license denial or revocation and casino-license or permit refusal, suspension, or revocation. The exemption also covers sports-be… - Officer decertification meetings get disclosure exemptions: cost, low. The law exempts specified criminal justice board or department meetings about officer decertification from mandatory public disclosure. The exemption covers only meetings or portions concerning an identifiable law-enforcement or jail officer. - Address checks can lead to cancellation: mixed, medium. Beginning July 1, 2027, Virginia checks voter addresses at least annually using postal change-of-address data or another reliable source. Checks must finish at least 90 days before a federal primary or general election. Same-county or city moves bring notices to the new address; moves outside that… - Citizenship questions with limits on checks: mixed, low. Virginia's motor vehicle agency asks about U.S. citizenship on covered applications and renewals; the answer does not decide document issuance. It sends election officials confidential monthly lists of people who reported noncitizen status for voter-record checks. Election officials can use the fed… - Election security improves but limits public access: mixed, low. The State Board updates voter-system security standards at least annually, consulting local technology staff and registrars. Local election boards using supporting technology must update written plans annually and report by March 1. Before limiting system access, the state must give notice and seve… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Marcia S. "Cia" Price (Democratic), House ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-03-11 | House | Senate amendments agreed to by House | pass | 64 | 34 | | | 2026-03-10 | Senate | Privileges and Elections Amendments agreed to | pass | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-03-10 | Senate | Passed Senate with amendments | pass | 21 | 19 | | | 2026-03-09 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-03-09 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) | pass | 40 | 0 | | | 2026-03-06 | Senate | Reported from Finance and Appropriations | pass | 10 | 5 | | | 2026-03-03 | Senate | Reported from Privileges and Elections with amendments and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations | pass | 8 | 7 | | | 2026-02-17 | House | Read third time and passed House | pass | 62 | 35 | | | 2026-02-13 | House | Reported from Privileges and Elections with substitute | pass | 14 | 7 | | | 2026-02-09 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute | pass | 6 | 2 | | ## Actions (42) - 2026-05-14: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP1120) (Governor) - 2026-05-14: Approved by Governor - Chapter 1120 (effective - see bill) (Governor) - 2026-04-23: Passed by for the day (House) - 2026-04-23: Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., May 23, 2026 (Governor) - 2026-04-23: Communicated to Governor (House) - 2026-04-22: Passed by for the day (House) - 2026-04-11: Governor's recommendation received by House (Governor) - 2026-04-06: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB972) (House) - 2026-03-31: Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 (Governor) - 2026-03-31: Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 31, 2026 (House) - 2026-03-31: Signed by Speaker (House) - 2026-03-30: Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB972ER) (House) - 2026-03-30: Enrolled (House) - 2026-03-30: Signed by President (Senate) - 2026-03-11: Senate amendments agreed to by House (64-Y 34-N 0-A) (House) - 2026-03-10: Passed Senate with amendments (21-Y 19-N 0-A) (Senate) - 2026-03-10: Privileges and Elections Amendments agreed to (Senate) - 2026-03-10: Engrossed by Senate as amended (Senate) - 2026-03-10: Read third time (Senate) - 2026-03-09: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate) - 2026-03-09: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate) - 2026-03-09: Rules suspended (Senate) - 2026-03-06: Reported from Finance and Appropriations (10-Y 5-N) (Senate) - 2026-03-03: Senate committee offered (Senate) - 2026-03-03: Reported from Privileges and Elections with amendments and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (8-Y 7-N) (Senate) - 2026-02-18: Referred to Committee on Privileges and Elections (Senate) - 2026-02-18: Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) (Senate) - 2026-02-17: Read third time and passed House (62-Y 35-N 0-A) (House) - 2026-02-16: Engrossed by House - committee substitute (House) - 2026-02-16: committee substitute agreed to (House) - 2026-02-16: Read second time (House) - 2026-02-15: Read first time (House) - 2026-02-13: Committee substitute printed 26107629D-H1 (House) - 2026-02-13: Reported from Privileges and Elections with substitute (14-Y 7-N) (House) - 2026-02-13: Incorporates HB966 (Price) (House) - 2026-02-12: House committee offered (House) - 2026-02-10: House subcommittee offered (House) - 2026-02-09: Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (6-Y 2-N) (House) - 2026-02-09: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB972) (House) - 2026-02-06: Assigned HPE sub: Election Administration (House) - 2026-01-13: Referred to Committee on Privileges and Elections (House) - 2026-01-13: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26101433D (House) ## Bill text - Chaptered, 2026-05-14: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1225724.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1225723.PDF) - Substitute, 2026-04-14: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1219415.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1219414.PDF) - Gov Recommendation, 2026-04-11: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1219411.HTML) - Enrolled, 2026-03-30: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1212286.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1212285.PDF) - Amendment, 2026-03-10: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1204034.HTML) - Amendment, 2026-03-04: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1192281.HTML) - Amendment, 2026-03-03: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1190308.HTML) - Substitute, 2026-02-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1145827.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1145826.PDF) - Substitute, 2026-02-12: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1136410.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1136409.PDF) - Substitute, 2026-02-10: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1136418.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1136417.PDF) - Introduced, 2026-01-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1086747.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1086746.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/1225724.HTML) - [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1225723.PDF) - [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1219415.HTML) - [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1219414.PDF) - [Gov Recommendation (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1219411.HTML) - [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1212286.HTML) - [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1212285.PDF) - [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1204034.HTML) - [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1192281.HTML) - [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1190308.HTML) - [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1145827.HTML) - [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1145826.PDF) - [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1136410.HTML) - [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1136409.PDF) - [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1136418.HTML) - [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1136417.PDF) - [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1086747.HTML) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1086746.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-HB972-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).