# Virginia SB298: Absentee voting in person; available beginning on tenth day prior to election, hours of operation.

Virginia SB298, Absentee voting in person; available beginning on tenth day prior to election, hours of operation., is a 2026 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by Mark J. Peake (Republican); status failed, last action 2026-01-20 (Passed by indefinitely in Privileges and Elections (8-Y 7-N)) (as of 2026-11-06).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB298-2026
- As of: 2026-11-06
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia SB298
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Absentee voting in person; available beginning on tenth day prior to election, hours of operation.
- Status: failed
- Chamber: Senate
- Introduced: 2026-01-13
- Last action: 2026-01-20, Passed by indefinitely in Privileges and Elections (8-Y 7-N)
- Sponsor: Mark J. Peake (Republican)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Subjects: Privileges and Elections
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 1 (8 yes, 7 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 0

## Summary

Elections; absentee voting in person; available beginning on the tenth day prior to election; hours of operation. Limits absentee voting in person to the 10 days immediately preceding an election. During this period, the bill requires that absentee voting in person be available Monday through Saturday, from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. each day.

## Bill overview

No economic impacts identified for this bill.

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Mark J. Peake (Republican), Senate

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-01-20 | Senate | Passed by indefinitely in Privileges and Elections | pass | 8 | 7 |   |

## Actions (3)

- 2026-01-20: Passed by indefinitely in Privileges and Elections (8-Y 7-N) (Senate)
- 2026-01-13: Referred to Committee on Privileges and Elections (Senate)
- 2026-01-13: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26101886D (Senate)

## Bill text

- Introduced, 2026-01-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1088932.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1088931.PDF)

## Related bills

- HB20: Minimum wage; farm laborers or farm employees, temporary foreign workers. (signed)
- SB199: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties. (signed)
- HB5: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties. (signed)
- SB253: Electric utilities; pilot programs for energy assistance and weatherization for certain individuals. (signed)
- SB226: Compost and other products containing organic soil amendments; waste disposal infrastructure, etc. (signed)
- SB225: Virginia Clean Energy Innovation Bank; created, report, membership. (signed)

## Sources
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1088932.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1088931.PDF)

## Related
- [HB20: Minimum wage; farm laborers or farm employees, temporary foreign workers.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB20-2026)
- [SB199: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB199-2026)
- [HB5: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB5-2026)
- [SB253: Electric utilities; pilot programs for energy assistance and weatherization for…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB253-2026)
- [SB226: Compost and other products containing organic soil amendments; waste disposal i…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB226-2026)
- [SB225: Virginia Clean Energy Innovation Bank; created, report, membership.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB225-2026)
- [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-SB298-2026 (as of 2026-11-06).