The Constitution of Virginia is the supreme law of the Commonwealth, overriding any state statute or executive order that conflicts with it. Voters adopted the current version on November 3, 1970, and it took effect July 1, 1971. It is the fifth complete revision of Virginia’s foundational law since 1776, following versions in 1830, 1851, 1870, and 1902.1Virginia Code Commission. Constitution of Virginia Compared with the document it replaced, the 1971 constitution is shorter, less restrictive, and leaves more practical detail to the General Assembly rather than fixing it in the constitutional text.
What follows is a walk through what the document actually contains: the rights it guarantees, the government it builds, and the rules it sets for the things state and local officials do with public money and public power.
The Rights It Guarantees
Article I is Virginia’s Declaration of Rights. Section 1 declares that everyone is “by nature equally free and independent” and holds inherent rights to life, liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness, and the article states that all governing power belongs to the people, with officials serving as their trustees.2Virginia Code Commission. Constitution of Virginia – Article I Bill of Rights The declaration predates the federal Bill of Rights and served as one of its models.
Section 16 bars the government from compelling anyone to attend, support, or fund any place of worship or ministry. Virginia has codified the same principle separately in statute, declaring that “no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place or ministry whatsoever.”3Virginia Code Commission. Code of Virginia – Chapter 1 Religious Freedom
Criminal Protections and Victims’ Rights
Section 8 guarantees anyone facing criminal charges a speedy public trial by an impartial jury, the right to know the charges, protection against being compelled to testify against themselves, and protection against being tried twice for the same offense. Section 9 prohibits excessive bail, excessive fines, and cruel or unusual punishment. Section 11 adds due process and equal protection, barring the government from depriving anyone of life, liberty, or property without due process and forbidding discrimination based on religious conviction, race, color, sex, or national origin.4Virginia Code Commission. Constitution of Virginia – Article I Bill of Rights – Section 11
Section 8-A gives crime victims the right to be treated with dignity throughout the criminal process, to address the court at sentencing, to receive timely notice of proceedings, to seek restitution, and to be informed if an offender escapes or is released.5Justia Law. Bill of Rights – Virginia Constitution These rights do not let a victim appeal or modify a court’s decision in a criminal case.
How It Structures State Government
Article III requires the legislative, executive, and judicial departments to remain “separate and distinct,” with no branch exercising powers that belong to another and no person holding authority in more than one branch at the same time.6Virginia Code Commission. Constitution of Virginia – Article III Division of Powers – Section 1
The General Assembly
Article IV vests legislative power in the General Assembly, which consists of a Senate and a House of Delegates. The body meets every January in Richmond. Even-numbered year sessions may last up to 60 days; odd-numbered year sessions are capped at 30 days. A two-thirds vote of both chambers can extend any session by up to 30 additional days.7Virginia Code Commission. Constitution of Virginia – Article IV Legislature – Section 6 Legislative Sessions
The Executive
Article V places executive power in the Governor, who serves a four-year term and cannot serve consecutive terms. The constitution makes the Governor ineligible not just for re-election but for “any other office” during the current term.8Virginia Code Commission. Constitution of Virginia – Article V Executive – Section 1 Executive Power and Governors Term of Office Virginia is one of the few states with this forced rotation.
The Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General round out the statewide elected executives. The constitution leaves the Attorney General’s specific duties to be set by statute.9Virginia Code Commission. Constitution of Virginia – Article V Executive – Section 15 Attorney General
When the Governor vetoes a bill, the General Assembly can override, but the bar is high. Each chamber must approve the bill by a two-thirds vote of members present, and that two-thirds must include a majority of all elected members of each house. The same threshold applies to a line-item veto on an appropriations bill.10Virginia Code Commission. Constitution of Virginia – Article V Executive – Section 6
The Courts
Article VI establishes the Supreme Court of Virginia as the highest court in the Commonwealth. Its jurisdiction is mostly appellate, but it has original jurisdiction in habeas corpus, mandamus, and claims of actual innocence by convicted felons. The General Assembly creates the subordinate courts, including the Court of Appeals and circuit courts.11Virginia Code Commission. Constitution of Virginia – Article VI Judiciary
Virginia selects its judges differently from most states. Justices of the Supreme Court are chosen by majority vote of both chambers of the General Assembly for 12-year terms. Judges on other courts of record serve eight-year terms and are selected the same way. A Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission of seven citizen members, also elected by the General Assembly, investigates charges that could lead to a judge’s censure, retirement, or removal under Article VI, Section 10.12Virginia General Assembly. Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission
Who Can Vote and How Districts Are Drawn
Article II sets voter qualifications: United States citizenship, at least 18 years old, Virginia residency, and voter registration.13Virginia Code Commission. Constitution of Virginia – Article II – Section 1 Qualifications of Voters
Two groups lose the right to vote. Anyone convicted of a felony is disqualified unless their civil rights are restored by the Governor or another appropriate authority. Anyone a court has found mentally incompetent is disqualified until their competency is re-established.14Virginia Code Commission. Constitution of Virginia – Article II Franchise and Officers Restoration after a felony conviction is not automatic in Virginia; it requires an individual petition or executive action.
A 2020 amendment added Section 6-A, creating the Virginia Redistricting Commission. Every ten years after the census, the 16-member body draws new district lines for the U.S. House of Representatives, the Virginia Senate, and the House of Delegates. Eight members are legislators appointed by party leaders; eight are citizens selected by a panel of five retired circuit court judges. Approval requires at least six of the eight legislative members and six of the eight citizen members. For Senate maps, at least three of the four Senate members on the commission must be among the six legislative votes, and the same applies to House of Delegates members for House maps. The General Assembly then has 15 days to vote the plan up or down as a single bill with no amendments. If the commission misses its deadlines or the legislature rejects the plan, the Supreme Court of Virginia draws the districts.15Virginia Code Commission. Constitution of Virginia – Article II – Section 6-A
Taxes and the Rainy Day Fund
Article X requires that all property be taxed unless specifically exempted, and that taxes within the same class of property be uniform across the taxing jurisdiction.16Virginia Code Commission. Constitution of Virginia – Article X Taxation and Finance – Section 1
Section 6-A requires the General Assembly to exempt from property taxation the home of any veteran with a 100-percent service-connected, permanent, and total disability as determined by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, as long as the veteran uses it as a primary residence. The exemption carries over to a surviving spouse who does not remarry. A similar exemption is available to surviving spouses of service members who died in the line of duty with a Department of Defense line-of-duty determination.17Virginia Code Commission. Constitution of Virginia – Article X Taxation and Finance – Section 6-A
Section 8 establishes the Revenue Stabilization Fund, Virginia’s rainy day reserve. The constitution caps it at 15 percent of the Commonwealth’s average annual income and retail sales tax revenues over the preceding three fiscal years. The General Assembly must deposit money each year under a formula tied to revenue growth above the six-year average, and any balance over the 15-percent cap flows back to the general fund.18Virginia Code Commission. Constitution of Virginia – Article X Taxation and Finance – Section 8 Implementing statutes allow withdrawals only when a revised forecast shows a revenue decline of more than two percent from the prior year’s certified tax revenues, and limit any withdrawal to half the projected shortfall.19Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code – Revenue Stabilization Fund
Local Government
Article VII defines four types of local government: counties, cities, towns, and regional governments. Virginia cities are independent of any county, a feature shared with very few other states. An incorporated community must have a population of at least 5,000 and meet the legal requirements for city status to qualify as a city under the constitution. Towns need a population of at least 1,000 and remain within county boundaries.20Virginia Code Commission. Constitution of Virginia – Article VII Local Government – Section 1
The article also limits how much debt localities can carry. Cities and towns may not issue bonds or other interest-bearing debt that, combined with existing debt, exceeds 10 percent of the assessed value of taxable real estate within their borders. Short-term revenue anticipation notes maturing within a year and bonds backed solely by revenue from a specific project are excluded from the cap. County borrowing generally requires voter approval, with exceptions for revenue-backed bonds and for bonds for school construction sold to the Literary Fund or the Virginia Supplemental Retirement System.21Virginia Code Commission. Constitution of Virginia – Article VII Local Government – Section 10 Debt
Public Education and the Literary Fund
Article VIII places a constitutional duty on the General Assembly to provide free public elementary and secondary schools for all children of school age and to ensure those schools maintain high quality. A nine-member Board of Education, appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the General Assembly, oversees the system. The Superintendent of Public Instruction, who must be “an experienced educator,” is also appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the legislature, though the General Assembly may change this selection method by statute.22Virginia Code Commission. Constitution of Virginia – Article VIII Education
The Board of Education sets the Standards of Quality, which establish minimum educational requirements for school divisions statewide. Those standards may be revised only by the General Assembly, which then determines how to divide the cost between state and local sources. Localities are expected to fund their share.
Article VIII also establishes the Literary Fund, a permanent school fund. Revenue comes from proceeds of public lands donated by Congress for school purposes, escheated property, forfeited property, fines collected for offenses against the Commonwealth, interest earned on the fund itself, and any additional money the General Assembly appropriates. Once the fund’s principal reaches $80 million, the General Assembly may direct additional revenue toward broader public school purposes, including the teachers’ retirement fund.
Environmental Rights
Article XI makes environmental protection a matter of constitutional policy. Section 1 declares that Virginians have a right to “clean air, pure water, and the use and enjoyment for recreation of adequate public lands, waters, and other natural resources,” and commits the Commonwealth to conserving and developing its natural resources and protecting its atmosphere, lands, and waters from pollution, impairment, or destruction.23Virginia Code Commission. Constitution of Virginia – Article XI Conservation – Section 1
How the Constitution Is Amended
Article XII provides two paths for changing the constitution. The usual route requires a proposed amendment to pass both chambers of the General Assembly by a simple majority, survive an intervening House of Delegates election, and then pass both chambers again in the next session. Only after that double vote does the amendment go to voters, where a majority at a general election makes it part of the constitution.24Virginia Code Commission. Constitution of Virginia – Article XII Future Changes The intervening election gives voters a chance to weigh in on their legislators before the second vote.
The second path is a constitutional convention. A two-thirds vote of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly can call a convention to propose a complete overhaul or targeted amendments. Anything a convention produces still requires voter approval by majority vote before taking effect.