Constitutional amendment; qualifications of voters, right to vote, persons not entitled to vote.
Summary
Constitutional amendment (voter referendum); qualifications of voters; right to vote; persons not entitled to vote. Provides for a referendum at the November 3, 2026, general election to approve or reject an amendment that would provide for the fundamental right to vote in the Commonwealth, 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 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. This bill is identical to HB 963.
Bill status
signed
all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Nov 2025
Committee Review
Jan 2026
Senate Passage
Feb 2026
House of Delegates Passage
Feb 2026
Signed into Law
Feb 2026
Introduced Nov 17, 2025
Signed Feb 6, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons
What changed between versions
Enrolled
→
Chaptered
·
3 edits
MINOR
The bill transitioned from an enrolled draft to a chaptered version, meaning it has been officially approved and assigned a chapter number (Chapter 5). The substantive policy content of the voting rights amendment remains unchanged, including provisions for felony voting rights restoration and mental competency standards. The primary differences are formatting and administrative housekeeping rather than policy modifications.
TECHNICAL
Added chapter designation (Chapter 5) and approval date (February 6, 2026) indicating the bill has been officially enacted
Removed draft session header information that was present in the enrolled version but not needed in the final chaptered version
Added page numbering (2 of 2) to the chaptered version for document organization
Floor votes · Senate Jan 22, 2026 · House of Delegates Feb 2, 2026
How they voted
38–0
Passed · 1 other
Total votes 39
Jan 22, 2026
D
Democratic20
95% Yea
R
Republican19
100% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
28
Key actions
11
Committee
4
Feb 6, 2026
Signed into law
Approved by Governor-Chapter 5 (effective July 1, 2026)
executive
Feb 4, 2026
Upper · Passed
Signed by President
upper
Feb 4, 2026
Lower · Passed
Signed by Speaker
lower
Feb 4, 2026
Upper · Passed
Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB6ER)
upper
Feb 2, 2026
Lower · Passed
Passed House (65-Y 34-N 0-A)
lower
Feb 2, 2026
Lower · Passed
Passed House (64-Y 34-N 0-A)
lower
Jan 30, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported from Privileges and Elections (15-Y 7-N)
lower
Jan 29, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee on Privileges and Elections
lower
Jan 26, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed Senate
upper
Jan 26, 2026
Upper · Passed
Read third time and passed Senate (21-Y 17-N 0-A)
upper
Jan 22, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)
upper
Jan 20, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported from Privileges and Elections (8-Y 7-N)
upper
Nov 17, 2025
Committee
Referred to Committee on Privileges and Elections
upper
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Mamie Locke
DDemocratic
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