# Virginia State Board of Elections

The Virginia State Board of Elections (SBE) was created in 1946 as a nonpolitical agency responsible for ensuring uniformity, fairness, accuracy and purity in all elections in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The SBE promotes the proper administration of election laws, campaign finance disclosure compliance, and voter registration processes in the state by promulgating rules, regulations, issuing instructions, and providing information to local electoral boards and general registrars. In addition, the SBE maintains a centralized database of statewide voter registration and election related data.
Elections in Virginia :
Federal government
U.S. President
1788–89
1792
1796
1800
1804
1808
1812
1816
1820
1824
1828
1832
1836
1840
1844
1848
1852
1856
1860
1872
1876
1880
1884
1888
1892
1896
1900
1904
1908
1912
1916
1920
1924
1928
1932
1936
1940
1944
1948
1952
1956
1960
1964
1968
1972
1976
1980
1984
1988
1992
1996
2000
Dem
2004
2008
Dem
GOP
2012
2016
Dem
2020
Dem
2024
Dem
GOP
U.S. Senate
1788
1790 (sp)
1791
1792 (sp)
1793
1794 (sp)
1796
1798
1799 (sp)
1803
1803 (sp)
1804
1804 (sp)
1808
1809
1811
1814
1814 (sp)
1815 (sp)
1816
1816 (sp)
1819 (sp)
1821
1822 (sp)
1823
1824
1824 (sp)
1827
1829
1832 (sp)
1833
1834 (sp)
1835
1836 (sp)
1837
1837 (sp)
1839
1840
1841 (sp)
1845
1845 (sp)
1846
1847 (sp)
1850
1852
1856
1858
1861 (sp)
1863
1865
1865 (sp)
1870
1871
1875
1877
1881
1883
1887
1889
1893
1893 (sp)
1894
1899
1899
1904
1906
1910
1911
1912
1912 (sp)
1916
1918
1920 (sp)
1922
1924
1928
1930
1933 (sp)
1934
1936
1940
1942
1946
1946 (sp)
1948
1952
1954
1958
1960
1964
1966
1966 (sp)
1970
1972
1976
1978
1982
1984
1988
1990
1994
1996
2000
2002
2006
2008
2012
2014
2018
2020
2024
2026
U.S. House
1789
1790
9th sp
1793
1795
1797
1798 (9th sp)
1799
1800 (13th sp)
1801
1803
1804
5th sp
13th sp
1805
13th sp
1807
17th sp
1809
21st sp
1st sp
1811
1813
1814 (11th sp)
1815
15th sp
1816
18th sp
23rd sp
1817
1818 (19th sp)
1819
1820
1st sp
10th sp
17th sp
20th sp
1821
1822 (2nd sp)
1823
1824 (13th sp)
1825
1826 (5th sp)
1827
1829
10th sp
1831
1833
1835
1837
1839
1841
1843
1845
1847
1849
1851
1853
1855
1857
1859
4th sp
1861
11th sp
1862 (1st sp)
1869
1870
1872
1874
1876
1878
1880
1882
1884
7th sp
1886
1888
1890
1892
1894
7th sp
1896
1898
1900
1902
1904
1906
1908
1910
1912
1914
1916
1918
1st sp
1920
4th sp
1922
1924
1926
1928
1930
1932
1934
1936
1938
1940
1942
1944
2nd sp
1946
5th sp
6th sp
7th sp
1948
4th sp
1950
1952
1954
1956
1958
1960
1962
1964
1966
1968
1970
1972
6th sp
1974
1976
1978
1980
1982
1984
1986
1988
5th sp
1990
1991 (7th sp)
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2001 (4th sp)
2002
8th
2004
2006
2007 (1st sp)
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
10th
2020
2022
2023 (4th sp)
2024 :
State government
Governor
1776
1851
1855
1859
1863
C
U
1869
1873
1877
1881
1885
1889
1893
1897
1901
1905
1909
1913
1917
1921
1925
1929
1933
1937
1941
1945
1949
1953
1957
1961
1965
1969
1973
1977
1981
1985
1989
1993
1997
2001
2005
2009
2013
2017
2021
2025
Lieutenant Governor
1973
1977
1981
1985
1989
1993
1997
2001
2005
2009
2013
2017
2021
2025
Attorney General
1993
1997
2001
2005
2009
2013
2017
2021
2025
Senate
1967
1971
1975
1979
1983
1987
1991
1995
1999
2003
2007
2011
2015
2019
2023
2027
House of Delegates
1975
1977
1979
1981
1982
1983
1985
1987
1989
1991
1993
1995
1997
1999
2001
2003
2005
2007
2009
2011
2013
2015
2017
2019
2021
2023
2025
State elections
1989
1991
1993
1995
1997
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2023
2025 :
Ballot measures
Statewide
1970
1972
1974
1976
1977
1978
1980
1982
1984
1986
1987
1988
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
Fairfax County
2016 :
Alexandria
Mayor
2012
2015
2018
2021
2024
(List) :
Henrico County
Commonwealth's Attorney
2011
2015
2019 :
Norfolk
Mayor
2006
2010
2014
2016
2020
2024 :
Richmond
Mayor
2016
2020
2024 :
Virginia Beach
Mayor
2008
2012
2016
2018
2020
City Council
2020 :
vte :

## State Board

The SBE is a five-member body consisting of a chair, vice-chair, secretary, and two other members, that manages the electoral process and investigates and adjudicates disputes and campaign law violations. Under the Code of Virginia, "Three Board members shall be of the political party which cast the highest number of votes for Governor at that election." The Board has power to promulgate rules to initiate Circuit Court proceedings for the removal of county and city electoral board members. It can call on the Attorney General of Virginia to initiate investigations. It also certifies independent and third-party candidates for the ballot, after sending their Petitions of Qualified Voters (nominating petitions) to local registrars for signature counting. The Board has power to prescribe such forms. It posts lists of candidates on the Internet.

## Ballot access

Virginia has one of the most restrictive set of ballot access laws in the United States. According to the Code of Virginia subsection 24.2-101, without "major party" status for automatic ballot access in Virginia, minor party and independent candidates have to gather petition signatures to get on the ballot. For example, the requirement for statewide elections is 10,000 signatures, including at least 400 from each of Virginia's 11 congressional districts. In order for a minor party to gain automatic ballot access as a major party, one of its nominated candidates must receive 10% of the vote in a statewide race. To obtain the signatures necessary to receive statewide ballot access in Virginia, it has been quoted to cost between $45,000 to $90,000 or up to $100,000.

## Litigation

The Virginia State Board of Elections has been a party in a number of lawsuits.

### Sarvis v. Judd

In July 2014, The Rutherford Institute supported the Libertarian Party of Virginia and alleged Virginia ballot laws favored "the election chances of Democrat and Republican candidates at the expense of Libertarian Party and independent candidates."
In Robert C. Sarvis, et al. v. Charles E. Judd, et al, the lawsuit was filed on behalf of the Libertarian Party of Virginia, several Libertarian Party candidates and an independent (non-party) candidate for public office in the November 2014 general election. The lawsuit challenged the Virginia State Board of Elections and the laws which require minor-party candidates to gather signatures on petitions to achieve ballot access as well as the laws which require minor-party and independent candidates' names to be placed below those of major-party candidates on the ballot.

### Libertarian Party of Virginia v. Judd

In 2013, the ACLU supported the Libertarian Party of Virginia and contended that the Libertarians would suffer "irreparable harm" given Virginia's ballot access laws.
In Libertarian Party of Virginia v. Judd, the Libertarian Party won the case regarding state residency requirements for petition circulators per the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on May 29, 2013. It was the first time a minor party had won a constitutional election law case in the Fourth Circuit since 1989 and 1988. In response to the Fourth Circuit's ruling, the State of Virginia via former Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli as well as several other states, like Oklahoma, submitted petitions to the Supreme Court of the United States asking to reverse the Fourth Circuit's decision. On December 2, 2013, the petitions against the Fourth Circuit's ruling were denied by the Supreme Court, and so the Libertarian Party of Virginia won the case regarding state residency requirements for petition circulators.

### Perry v. Judd

In January 2012, Texas Governor Rick Perry, former senator Rick Santorum, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman Jr. failed to qualify for the ballot and sued the State Board of Elections. U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney Jr. denied the request to add their names to Virginia's Republican primary ballot.

### Project Vote v. Long

In February 2010, after receiving reports from local community partners regarding large numbers of rejected voter registration applications, Project Vote and its voting partner, Advancement Project, sought to review Norfolk's rejected registration applications to ascertain if qualified persons were unlawfully kept off the voting rolls. Elisa Long, the general registrar of Norfolk, and Nancy Rodrigues, secretary of the State Board of Elections denied Project Vote and Advancement Project the right to review the records, and both groups filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Norfolk, Virginia.
In July 2011, the Court granted Project Vote's Motion for Summary Judgment and ordered the Norfolk County Registrar "to permit access to any requesting party for copy and/or inspection of voter registration applications and related records," in compliance with public disclosure requirements under the National Voter Registration Act.

### Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections

In Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections (1966) the U.S. Supreme Court found that Virginia's poll tax was unconstitutional under the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. The 24th Amendment (1964) prohibited poll taxes in federal elections. However, five states continued to impose a poll tax for voters in state elections. By this ruling, the Supreme Court banned the use of a poll tax in state elections.