Voting on these constitutional amendments is the last step in the multi-year process required to amend the state constitution.
Virginia voters in every locality will vote this fall on whether to make three changes to the state constitution.
The three ballot questions have to do with reproductive rights, marriage equality, and voting rights restoration.
Voting on these constitutional amendments is the last step in the multi-year process required to amend the state constitution.
In Virginia, constitutional amendments must be approved by both chambers—the House of Delegates and the Senate—in the state’s General Assembly.
Then, after elections are held for members of the House of Delegates, the constitutional amendments must again be approved by both chambers of the General Assembly.
The General Assembly approved these constitutional amendments in its 2025 session, and elections for the House of Delegates were held later that year. The constitutional amendments passed again earlier this year during the 2026 legislative session.
Reproductive freedom
The amendment related to reproductive freedom would enshrine the right to an abortion, birth control, miscarriage management, and in vitro fertilization (IVF) in the state constitution.
Here’s the question that will be on the ballot:
“Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended to (i) protect the freedom to make personal decisions about prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, birth control, abortion, miscarriage management, and fertility care; (ii) protect doctors, nurses, and patients from being punished for these decisions; and (iii) allow for restrictions on access to abortion during the third trimester of pregnancy except when the patient’s health is at risk or the pregnancy cannot survive?”
Abortion is legal in Virginia, but advocates view adding abortion rights to the state’s constitution as a necessary step in the wake of the US Supreme Court taking away the federal right to abortion with the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022.
Since then, Republicans in states like Idaho and South Carolina have enacted harsh abortion restrictions that have had fatal consequences for women.
Marriage equality
The marriage equality amendment would remove language from the state Constitution that bans same-sex marriage. That language is overridden by federal law which protects same-sex marriages, but advocates worry about losing that protection if federal law changes.
Here’s how the question will appear on the ballot:
“Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended to (i) remove the ban on same-sex marriage; (ii) affirm that two adults may marry regardless of sex, gender, or race; and (iii) require all legally valid marriages to be treated equally under the law?”
Voting rights restoration
The voting rights restoration amendment would allow for the automatic restoration of voting rights for people who have served prison time for a felony conviction. Currently, people who serve time for felony convictions lose their right to vote in Virginia and have to petition the governor to get it back.
According to the Fair Elections Center the amendment would fix a “ deeply broken system.”
Here’s how the question will appear on the ballot:
“Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended (i) to provide for the fundamental right to vote in the Commonwealth, (ii) to revise the qualifications of voters so that a person convicted of a felony is not entitled to vote during his period of incarceration but is automatically invested with the right to vote upon release from incarceration, and (iii) to update the existing prohibition on voting by persons found to be mentally incompetent to instead apply to persons who have been found to lack the capacity to understand the act of voting?”
