Bill
HJ 443
Establishes a bipartisan joint subcommittee to study consolidating Virginia elections into even-numbered years, with potential constitutional, statutory, and budget changes.
Status and key dates
- Bill type: House Joint Resolution (HJ 443), enrolled as passed House and Senate (HJ443ER).
- Introduced / Prefiled: January 6, 2025; offered January 13, 2025.
- House agreed: February 3, 2025 (50–46). Senate agreed with substitute: February 20, 2025 (20–19). Conference report agreed: February 21, 2025. Enrolled bill text posted March 12, 2025.
- Implementation of the resolution is subject to approval/certification by the Joint Rules Committee.
Purpose and intent
- Establish a bipartisan joint subcommittee to study whether and how to consolidate and reschedule Virginia’s state and local general elections—specifically weighing moving some or all elections from Virginia’s current “off‑cycle” (odd‑numbered years) to even‑numbered years to coincide with the federal election cycle.
- Motivations cited include improving voter turnout, reducing voter fatigue, lowering election administration costs borne by localities, and reducing campaign fundraising pressure.
Membership, staffing, and process
- Total membership: 13 (8 legislative members, 4 nonlegislative citizen members, 1 ex officio nonvoting member).
- Legislative: 3 senators (at least 2 from Senate Privileges & Elections) appointed by Senate Committee on Rules; 5 delegates (at least 3 from House Privileges & Elections) appointed by the Speaker consistent with House proportional‑representation rules.
- Nonlegislative citizens: four appointed (two by Senate Committee on Rules—one current/former board of supervisors member, one current/former local electoral board member; two by House Speaker—one current/former town/city council member, one current/former general registrar). Members must be Virginia citizens.
- Ex officio: Commissioner of Elections (or designee), nonvoting.
- Administrative support: Offices of the Clerks of the Senate/House (depending on chair), Division of Legislative Services for legal/research, Department of Elections for technical assistance; all state agencies to assist as requested.
- Reimbursement: Nonlegislative members reimbursed only for in‑state travel unless otherwise approved.
Study scope and required outputs
- Issues to be examined: impacts on voter turnout; campaign costs and fundraising; interaction with state and federal campaign finance laws; estimated savings to local governments/taxpayers.
- Any consolidation/rescheduling recommendation must include:
1. Specific elected offices whose terms should be extended or shortened to effect the shift.
2. Necessary amendments to the Virginia Constitution and the Code of Virginia.
3. Whether the Commonwealth’s two‑year budget cycle should be adjusted.
4. Any budget amendments required to implement changes.
- Reporting: Subcommittee limited to four meetings in the 2025 interim and four in the 2026 interim. Meetings must be completed by November 30 in each year. The chair must submit an executive summary of findings/recommendations to the Division of Legislative Automated Systems by the first day of the next Regular Session each year; summaries will indicate whether a full report will be filed and will be posted per legislative procedures.
Budget and procedural constraints
- Direct costs capped at $19,840 per year unless higher spending is approved in writing by the chair and the respective Clerk(s).
- A safeguard prevents adoption of any recommendation if a majority of Senate appointees or a majority of House appointees (separately) vote against it and vote for the recommendation to fail notwithstanding the joint subcommittee majority.
Potential impacts (if recommendations adopted)
- Could require constitutional amendments and statutory changes, changes in term lengths, adjustments to budgeting cycles, local election administration changes, and potential taxpayer savings and changes in campaign financing dynamics.
- HJ 443 itself only creates a study body; it does not change election dates or terms. Any substantive change would require subsequent legislative or constitutional action.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
Sign in to ask a question.
