# Virginia SB169: Candidates for office; challenges to candidate qualifications.

Virginia SB169, Candidates for office; challenges to candidate qualifications., is a 2026 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by Stella G. Pekarsky (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-13 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0882)) (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB169-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia SB169
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Candidates for office; challenges to candidate qualifications.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: Senate
- Introduced: 2026-01-08
- Last action: 2026-04-13, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0882)
- Sponsor: Stella G. Pekarsky (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 7 (146 yes, 66 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 4

## Summary

Elections; candidates for office; challenges to candidate qualifications. Requires any legal action relating to a person's eligibility to appear on the ballot on the basis that such person did not meet all qualifications or fulfill all requirements for candidacy to be filed in a circuit court and served on all parties (i) at least 90 days before the date of a general election; (ii) at least 65 days before the date of a primary election; (iii) at least 70 days before the date of a special election held on the same date as the general election; or (iv) for any special election held at a time other than a general election, (a) at least 55 days before the date of the special election or (b) within 10 days of any writ of election or order calling for a special election to be held less than 60 days after the issuance of the writ or order. The bill specifies that any such legal action will be given precedence on the docket and be decided by the circuit court no later than 10 days before the date on which ballots for that election are made available for absentee voting. The bill also specifies that candidates who are nominated at a primary election cannot be later challenged on the basis of facts that were present prior to the primary election and could have been raised in a challenge to such candidate's eligibility for the primary ballot.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Challenges to officials outside elections: benefit, low. The law keeps the right to challenge an elected official’s qualification to serve outside election season. You can still bring these cases under the state constitution and existing law, apart from ballot challenges.
- Firm deadlines for ballot challenges: benefit, low. The law sets firm deadlines to challenge a person's name on the ballot. File in circuit court and serve all parties. General election: at least 90 days before the election. Primary: at least 65 days before. Special held with the general: at least 70 days before. Any other special: at least 55 days…
- One venue and faster rulings: benefit, low. File challenges for multi-court districts in the circuit with the most registered voters. These cases go to the front of the docket. The court must decide by 10 days before absentee ballots are available. For those multi-court district cases, the court must decide within 30 days of filing. If you a…
- No post-primary challenges on old facts: mixed, low. Once a candidate wins a primary, you cannot challenge them later using facts that existed before the primary and could have been raised then. This protects nominees from repeat claims and helps lock in results. It also limits challengers who wait to bring old issues until after the primary.

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Stella G. Pekarsky (Democratic), Senate

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-04 | House | Passed House | pass | 63 | 36 |   |
| 2026-02-27 | House | Reported from Privileges and Elections | pass | 14 | 7 |   |
| 2026-01-26 | Senate | Read third time and passed Senate | pass | 22 | 16 |   |
| 2026-01-23 | Senate | Engrossed by Senate (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-01-22 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) | pass | 39 | 0 |   |
| 2026-01-22 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-01-20 | Senate | Reported from Privileges and Elections | pass | 8 | 7 |   |

## Actions (27)

- 2026-04-13: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0882) (Governor)
- 2026-04-13: Approved by Governor-Chapter 882 (effective 7/1/2026) (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 (Senate)
- 2026-03-11: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB169) (Senate)
- 2026-03-10: Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB169ER) (Senate)
- 2026-03-10: Enrolled (Senate)
- 2026-03-10: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2026-03-10: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2026-03-04: Passed House (63-Y 36-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-03-04: Read third time (House)
- 2026-03-03: Read second time (House)
- 2026-02-27: Reported from Privileges and Elections (14-Y 7-N) (House)
- 2026-02-03: Referred to Committee on Privileges and Elections (House)
- 2026-02-03: Read first time (House)
- 2026-02-03: Placed on Calendar (House)
- 2026-02-02: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB169) (Senate)
- 2026-01-26: Read third time and passed Senate (22-Y 16-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-01-26: Passed Senate (Senate)
- 2026-01-23: Engrossed by Senate (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-01-23: Read second time (Senate)
- 2026-01-22: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-01-22: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) (39-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-01-22: Read first time (Senate)
- 2026-01-20: Reported from Privileges and Elections (8-Y 7-N) (Senate)
- 2026-01-08: Referred to Committee on Privileges and Elections (Senate)
- 2026-01-08: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26100612D (Senate)

## Bill text

- Chaptered, 2026-04-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1223056.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1223055.PDF)
- Enrolled, 2026-03-10: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1198788.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1198787.PDF)
- Introduced, 2026-01-08: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083628.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083627.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/1223056.HTML)
- [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1223055.PDF)
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1198788.HTML)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1198787.PDF)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083628.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083627.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)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB169-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).