HB 835 Virginia House of Delegates · 2026 Regular Session

Elections; candidates and elected officials, confidentiality of personally identifiable information.

Summary
Elections; candidates and elected officials; address confidentiality. Prohibits the custodian of any filing made by a candidate from releasing the address, phone number, or email address of such candidate in response to a request made under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. The bill permits a candidate to provide the unique identifier assigned to him in the voter registration system pursuant to relevant law in place of his residence address on any candidate filing. The State Board of Elections is prohibited from requiring candidates to disclose their address or unique identifier on petitions prior to their being filed. The bill also adds elected officials to the list of people who may furnish, in addition to their residence street address, a post office box address located within the Commonwealth to be included in lieu of their street address on the lists of registered voters. The certificate of election delivered to the winner of an election is required to be accompanied by a notice that the person meets the qualifications for being granted protected voter status along with instructions for updating their voter registration in order to attain such status. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027. This bill is identical to SB 632.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Feb 2026
House of Delegates Passage
Mar 2026
Senate Passage
Mar 2026
Signed into Law
Apr 2026
Introduced Jan 13, 2026 Signed Apr 6, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

Enrolled Chaptered · 2 edits
MINOR
The bill was finalized and approved on April 6, 2026, transitioning from an enrolled draft to an official chapter of the Virginia Acts of Assembly. The substantive content of the law, which amends several sections of the Code of Virginia and adds a new section regarding address confidentiality for candidates and elected officials, remains unchanged from the previous version. The primary difference is the addition of the official approval date and the chapter number, confirming the bill's enactment.
Scope change
No change in scope or applicability; the bill now has an official effective date and chapter number.
TECHNICAL

Added the official approval date (April 6, 2026) and chapter number (Chapter 228) to formally enact the legislation.

Removed the placeholder 'Approved' text and the '2026 SESSION' header to replace them with specific enactment details.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 26, 2026 · House of Delegates Feb 12, 2026

How they voted

390
Passed
Total votes 39
Feb 26, 2026
D Democratic20
20 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican19
19 Yea
100% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
33
Key actions
12
Committee
7
Apr 6, 2026
Signed into law
Approved by Governor-Chapter 228 (effective 7/1/2026)
executive
Mar 12, 2026
Lower · Passed
Signed by Speaker
lower
Mar 11, 2026
Upper · Passed
Signed by President
upper
Mar 11, 2026
Lower · Passed
Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB835ER)
lower
Mar 2, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed Senate with substitute (21-Y 19-N 0-A)
upper
Feb 27, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed by for the day
upper
Feb 26, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)
upper
Feb 24, 2026
Upper · Passed
Senate committee offered
upper
Feb 24, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported from Privileges and Elections with substitute (15-Y 0-N)
upper
Feb 13, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee on Privileges and Elections
upper
Feb 12, 2026
Lower · Passed
Read third time and passed House (79-Y 19-N 0-A)
lower
Feb 6, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported from Privileges and Elections (17-Y 5-N)
lower
Feb 3, 2026
Lower · Passed
Subcommittee recommends reporting (6-Y 2-N)
lower
Jan 30, 2026
Committee
Assigned HPE sub: Campaigns and Candidates
lower
Jan 13, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee on Privileges and Elections
lower
1 primary · 11 co-sponsors

Sponsors