# Virginia SB34: Incapacitated persons; finding of lack of capacity to understand act of voting.

Virginia SB34, Incapacitated persons; finding of lack of capacity to understand act of voting., is a 2026 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by Barbara A. Favola (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-08 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0443)) (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB34-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia SB34
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Incapacitated persons; finding of lack of capacity to understand act of voting.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: Senate
- Introduced: 2025-11-19
- Last action: 2026-04-08, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0443)
- Sponsor: Barbara A. Favola (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 10 (224 yes, 58 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## Summary

Incapacitated persons; finding of lack of capacity to understand act of voting. Provides that a finding that a person is incapacitated in a proceeding for guardianship or conservatorship shall not be synonymous with a finding that such person lacks the capacity to understand the act of voting and therefore is not qualified to vote in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution of Virginia. The bill provides that no person shall be deemed disqualified to vote due to a lack of capacity for the purposes of the Constitution of Virginia unless a court makes a specific finding by clear and convincing evidence that such person lacks the capacity to understand the act of voting. This bill is identical to HB 1014.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Stronger voting protections for Virginians with disabilities: benefit, medium. In Virginia, a general finding of incapacity does not automatically take away your voting rights. Courts need clear and convincing evidence that you cannot understand voting, and must explain that finding in the order. The court-appointed guardian ad litem must assess voting capacity, but courts ca…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Barbara A. Favola (Democratic), Senate

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-06 | Senate | House substitute agreed to by Senate | pass | 24 | 16 |   |
| 2026-03-04 | House | Passed House with substitute | pass | 65 | 34 |   |
| 2026-02-27 | House | Reported from Privileges and Elections with substitute | pass | 15 | 6 |   |
| 2026-02-16 | Senate | Read third time and passed Senate | pass | 37 | 1 |   |
| 2026-02-13 | Senate | Finance and Appropriations Substitute agreed to | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-12 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-12 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-11 | Senate | Reported from Finance and Appropriations with substitute | pass | 15 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-04 | Senate | Reported from Courts of Justice and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations | pass | 14 | 1 |   |
| 2026-01-20 | Senate | Rereferred from Privileges and Elections to Courts of Justice | pass | 14 | 0 |   |

## Actions (38)

- 2026-04-08: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0443) (Governor)
- 2026-04-08: Approved by Governor-Chapter 443 (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)
- 2026-03-12: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB34) (Senate)
- 2026-03-12: Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB34ER) (Senate)
- 2026-03-12: Enrolled (Senate)
- 2026-03-12: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2026-03-12: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2026-03-06: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB34) (Senate)
- 2026-03-06: House substitute agreed to by Senate (24-Y 16-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-04: Passed House with substitute (65-Y 34-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-03-04: Engrossed by House - committee substitute (House)
- 2026-03-04: committee substitute agreed to (House)
- 2026-03-04: Read third time (House)
- 2026-03-03: Read second time (House)
- 2026-02-27: Committee substitute printed 26108489D-H1 (House)
- 2026-02-27: Reported from Privileges and Elections with substitute (15-Y 6-N) (House)
- 2026-02-26: House committee offered (House)
- 2026-02-20: House committee offered (House)
- 2026-02-19: Referred to Committee on Privileges and Elections (House)
- 2026-02-19: Read first time (House)
- 2026-02-19: Placed on Calendar (House)
- 2026-02-17: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB34) (Senate)
- 2026-02-16: Read third time and passed Senate (37-Y 1-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-02-13: Finance and Appropriations Substitute agreed to (Senate)
- 2026-02-13: Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-02-13: Read second time (Senate)
- 2026-02-13: Committee substitute printed 26107752D-S1 (Senate)
- 2026-02-12: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-02-12: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-02-12: Rules suspended (Senate)
- 2026-02-11: Reported from Finance and Appropriations with substitute (15-Y 0-N) (Senate)
- 2026-02-04: Reported from Courts of Justice and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (14-Y 1-N) (Senate)
- 2026-01-27: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB34) (Senate)
- 2026-01-20: Rereferred from Privileges and Elections to Courts of Justice (14-Y 0-N) (Senate)
- 2025-11-19: Referred to Committee on Privileges and Elections (Senate)
- 2025-11-19: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26100162D (Senate)

## Bill text

- Substitute, 2026-07-01: [HTML](https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/SB34)
- Chaptered, 2026-04-08: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1231768.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1231767.PDF)
- Enrolled, 2026-03-12: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1202378.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1202377.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-27: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1185544.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1185543.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-26: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1185368.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1185367.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-20: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1171195.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1171194.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1145767.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1145766.PDF)
- Introduced, 2025-11-19: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1081382.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1081381.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
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/SB34)
- [Chaptered (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1231768.HTML)
- [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1231767.PDF)
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1202378.HTML)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1202377.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1185544.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1185543.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1185368.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1185367.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1171195.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1171194.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1145767.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1145766.PDF)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1081382.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1081381.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)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB34-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).