Elections in Virginia are authorized under Article I of the Virginia State Constitution, sections 5–6, and Article V which establishes elections for the state-level officers, cabinet, and legislature. Article VII section 4 establishes the election of county-level officers. Elections are regulated under state statute 24.2-102. The Virginia State Board of Elections oversees the execution of elections under state law. In a 2020 study, Virginia was ranked as the 12th easiest state for citizens to vote in.
Voters do not register by party in Virginia, and Virginia conducts open primaries where any voter may cast a ballot for either party. Traditionally, political parties could choose which nomination method to use for each election, with the option to either participate in the state-run primary or conduct a party-run convention. A law which passed in 2021 and took effect in 2024 requires a party's method of nomination to make certain accommodations for absentee voters, and had the practical effect of outlawing party-run conventions.
In general elections, the party affiliations of local candidates do not appear on the ballot. Candidates for federal, statewide, and General Assembly offices appear on the ballot with party designations.Va. Code § 24.2-613 Besides the Democratic Party of Virginia and the Republican Party of Virginia, other parties include the Libertarian Party of Virginia, Constitution Party of Virginia, Green Party of Virginia, and the Independent Greens of Virginia. Third parties and independents have benefited from electoral reform in Virginia, especially streamlined ballot access, and have made their presence known by appearing on statewide ballots and even winning seats to soil and water conservation district boards.
In 2009, Governor Tim Kaine proposed to authorize no-excuse early voting in Virginia elections, noting that 26 other states allow it.http://www.southernstudies.org/2009/01/voting-rights-virginia-governor-pushes-for-no-excuse-early-voting.html Retrieved February 8, 2009. On January 26, 2009, the bill passed the Democratic-controlled Senate. However, the Republican-controlled House of delegates killed the proposal.
Governor Kaine worked with a coalition of civic groups to work to restore the voting rights of felons who were convicted of non-violent crimes in the past. Kaine's staff reviewed each individual application from felons who had been out of prison for at least five years without an additional conviction. An estimated 366,000 Virginia citizens are disenfranchised due to a prior felony conviction.
Administration
The Commonwealth of Virginia holds its state general elections on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November (better known as Election Day) in every odd-numbered year. As a result of this, gubernatorial elections in Virginia systematically follow the quadrennial United States presidential election by one year.
During general elections in Virginia, elections are held for the statewide executive positions of governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general. Elections are also held for legislative positions in the Senate of Virginia and the Virginia House of Delegates and the county-level offices of Commonwealth's attorney, sheriff, clerk of court, Treasurer, and Commissioner of the Revenue. Officials elected to the House of Delegates serve a term of two years, and clerks of court are elected to eight-year terms. All other officials are elected for a term of four years.Constitution of Virginia, Article 4, specifies election of legislatorsConstitution of Virginia, Article 5, specifies election of statewide executivesConstitution of Virginia, Article 7, specifies election of local officials
Virginia's governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general are elected at large every four years. State senators and members of the House of Delegates are elected in single-member districts. County-level officials are elected by county.
Virginia has 100 seats in its House of Delegates, and 40 seats in its Senate.
Balance of power Virginia Government balance of power Office Party in Power Assumed Control Next Election Governor Democratic (Spanberger) January 17, 2026 (Spanberger) November 6, 2029 Lieutenant governor Democratic (Hashmi) January 17, 2026 (Hashmi) November 6, 2029 Attorney general Democratic (Jones) January 17, 2026 (Jones) November 6, 2029 Virginia Senate Democratic (21/40 seats) January 2020 (21/40 seats) November 2, 2027 Virginia House of Delegates Democratic (64/100 seats) January 2026 (64/100 seats) November 2, 2027
History
Gubernatorial election results Year Democratic Republican1953 54.8% 226,998 44.3% 183,3281957 63.2% 326,921 36.4% 188,6281961 63.9% 251,861 36.2% 142,5671965 47.9% 296,526 37.7% 212,2071969 45.4% 415,695 52.5% 480,8691973 49.3% 510,103 50.7% 525,0751977 43.3% 541,319 55.9% 699,3021981 53.6% 760,357 46.4% 659,3981985 55.2% 741,438 44.8% 601,6521989 50.1% 897,139 49.8% 890,2851993 40.9% 733,527 58.3% 1,045,3191997 42.6% 738,971 55.8% 969,0622001 52.2% 984,177 47.0% 887,2342005 51.7% 1,025,942 46.0% 912,3272009 41.3% 818,950 58.6% 1,163,6512013 47.8% 1,069,789 45.2% 1,013,3542017 53.9% 1,409,175 45.0% 1,175,7312021 48.6% 1,600,116 50.6% 1,663,5962025 57.6% 1,976,857 42.2% 1,449,586
After the American Civil War (1861–1865), Virginia was in political turmoil. 48 former counties now in West Virginia were gone, soon to be joined by two more. The Commonwealth of Virginia unsuccessfully appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. In the remaining area, many citizens, mostly males of African American heritage, were newly enfranchised to vote. Many others, primarily former Confederates, were initially disenfranchised.
Elections resumed after 5 years as a U.S. Military District, and control was chaotic. In the late 1870s, a coalition of Conservative Democrats, Republicans, and African Americans was assembled and the Readjuster Party took power for about 10 years. After U.S. Senator William Mahone and the Readjuster Party lost control of Virginia politics around 1883, white Democrats regained the state legislature. They proceeded to use statute and a new constitution in 1901, with provisions such as a poll tax, residency requirements, and literacy test to disfranchise most African Americans and many poor whites. Their disfranchisement lasted until after the passage of civil rights legislation in the mid-1960s.
White Democrats created a one-party state, with a nearly unchallenged majority of state and most federal offices through the middle of the 20th century. The Byrd Organization headed by Harry F. Byrd Sr. largely controlled statewide politics. Through their leadership and activism in the Civil Rights Movement, African Americans gained national support for passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which provided Federal oversight and enforcement to maintain all citizens' ability to vote. Under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, decisions affecting elections are subject to preclearance by the U.S. Department of Justice before they can take effect.
President Lyndon Johnson's and national Democrats' support for civil rights turned many conservative whites in Virginia against the Democrats. However, many Virginians had been willing to support Republicans, at least at the national level, since the 1930s due to Franklin Roosevelt's strong support for organized labor. While the Republican Party in most of the South tended to attract right-wing conservatives like Jesse Helms and Strom Thurmond, Virginia's GOP has tended to be more moderate by regional standards. The state elected moderate Republican A. Linwood Holton Jr. in 1970; Holton became the first Republican governor in the 20th century, effectively ending the influence of the Byrd Organization. The current Virginia State Constitution was created in 1971 to replace the discriminatory one created in 1901. Holton was succeeded by two other Republican governors: the more conservative Mills Godwin (a former Democrat) and John N. Dalton. Five-term U.S. Senator John Warner and Congressman Tom Davis also exemplified the more "moderate-conservative" tendencies of Virginia Republicans. From 1982 through 1994, Democrats served as governor, with Chuck Robb elected in 1981 and Gerald L. Baliles in 1985. In 1989, Virginia elected Democrat Douglas Wilder governor, who served from 1990 to 1994, as Virginia's first African-American governor. In 2001, Virginia elected Democrats Mark Warner as governor and Tim Kaine as lieutenant governor, and Kaine was elected to succeed Warner as governor in 2005. In 2009, however, a Republican again returned to the governor's mansion as Bob McDonnell defeated Democrat Creigh Deeds, garnering 58.61% of the popular vote to Deeds' 41.25%. Republicans also managed to sweep all statewide races in 2009, the first time they accomplished this feat since 1997.
Virginia voted for Republicans in nearly every presidential election from 1952 to 2004 except for the Democratic landslide in President Johnson's election in 1964. This former streak started when Richard Nixon began the Southern Strategy, and is the longest among the former Confederate States. Virginia was the only such state to vote for Gerald Ford over Jimmy Carter in 1976. Since 2008, Virginia has voted for Democrats in presidential elections, including Barack Obama; in 2016, Virginia was the only former Confederate state to vote for Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump.
Recent events
In 1989, Doug Wilder was the first African-American elected governor of a U.S. state. Despite Virginia's support of Republican presidential candidates and reputation as a conservative state, voters elected Democratic candidates for three consecutive gubernatorial races in the 1980s. In addition, Democratic representatives maintained large majorities in both houses of the Virginia General Assembly. Many Democratic state representatives from rural and suburban districts had conservative stances on various issues.
In the 1990s Virginia experienced some political realignment, electing conservative Republicans George Allen and Jim Gilmore to the governorship from 1994 until 2002. Jim Gilmore's "no car tax" pledge was emblazoned on bumper stickers and yard signs across the state. Republicans captured both houses of the General Assembly and built majorities. Republican representatives replaced Conservative and moderate Democrats from rural and suburban areas. Within the Republican party, more conservative officeholders supplanted the remnants of the less conservative "mountain-valley" faction of Holton, so named because many members were from the Shenandoah Valley and Southwest Virginia.
After eight years of Republican governorships, in 2001, Mark Warner, a progressive businessman, won the governorship and confronted budget difficulties related to the recession by cutting money from all state departments. Virginia's executive branch is limited by the fact that governors are barred from serving consecutive terms, a constitutional provision that distinguishes Virginia from any other state. After decades of Democratic rule in the Virginia General Assembly, Republicans took control around the turn of the 21st century and promptly redistricted to protect their incumbents. In 2005 Tim Kaine, Warner's lieutenant governor, won the governor's office over Jerry Kilgore and "independent Republican" state senator Russ Potts.