Virginians will decide three proposed constitutional amendments at the general election on November 3, 2026: one protecting reproductive rights, one replacing the state’s same-sex marriage ban with an affirmative marriage equality guarantee, and one automatically restoring voting rights to people with felony convictions after their release from incarceration. A fourth proposed amendment, which would have let the General Assembly redraw congressional districts mid-decade, was approved by voters at an April 21, 2026 special election and then struck down by the Virginia Supreme Court on May 8, 2026. These are the Virginia constitutional amendments on the 2026 ballot.
Reproductive Rights Amendment
The reproductive rights amendment would write a “fundamental right to reproductive freedom” into the Virginia Constitution. It covers abortion, contraception, fertility treatments, and miscarriage management, and it shields both patients and medical providers from punishment for reproductive health decisions. The state would still be permitted to restrict abortion in the third trimester, with exceptions when the patient’s life or physical or mental health is at risk or when the pregnancy cannot survive.1Virginia Legislative Information System. SB449 – Constitutional Amendment, Reproductive Freedom
The ballot question reads: “Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended to protect the freedom to make personal decisions about prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, birth control, abortion, miscarriage management, and fertility care; protect doctors, nurses, and patients from being punished for these decisions; and 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?”2Virginia Mercury. New Court Challenge Targets Virginia Abortion Amendment Ballot Language
The amendment cleared the General Assembly in early 2026 without any Republican votes, passing the Senate 21-17 on January 26 and the House 62-35 on February 2. Governor Abigail Spanberger signed the companion legislation on February 6, 2026.1Virginia Legislative Information System. SB449 – Constitutional Amendment, Reproductive Freedom
Two Pending Lawsuits
Two lawsuits are trying to keep the amendment off the ballot or block its certification. The first, Bansley v. Nardo, was filed March 2, 2026, in Bedford County by Supervisor Charla Bansley, represented by Liberty Counsel. It alleges that the House clerk failed to distribute the proposed amendment text to circuit court clerks for public posting three months before the 2025 election, as state law then required. That claim runs into House Bill 1384, which Governor Spanberger signed in February 2026 and which retroactively removed the posting requirement from state code. Whether the retroactive fix will hold up in court is unresolved.3Virginia Mercury. Bedford County Supervisor Files Suit Challenging Reproductive Rights Constitutional Amendment4InsideNoVA. Lawsuit Claims Violation of Constitutional Amendment Process
The second suit was filed April 30, 2026, in Tazewell County by the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, the Virginia Medical Freedom Alliance, and Bluefield Town Council member Meagan Kade, represented by the Founding Freedoms Law Center. The plaintiffs call the ballot language “deceptive” and argue the amendment would eliminate parental consent requirements for minors, allow unlicensed individuals to perform abortions with legal immunity, and strip the state of authority to regulate abortion facilities. They are seeking an injunction preventing certification. Both lawsuits remain pending.5Courthouse News Service. Conservative Medical Professionals Sue Virginia Over Proposed Abortion Rights Amendment
The Virginia Catholic Conference opposes the amendment and has organized parish-level outreach against it. Victoria Cobb of the Family Foundation of Virginia has called the proposal an attempt to “recreate the most radical abortion regime anywhere in the United States.”6Virginia Catholic Conference. Constitutional Amendments 20265Courthouse News Service. Conservative Medical Professionals Sue Virginia Over Proposed Abortion Rights Amendment
Marriage Equality Amendment
This amendment would remove the Marshall-Newman Amendment, the 2006 provision defining marriage in Virginia as solely between one man and one woman. That provision has been unenforceable since 2014 following federal court rulings and was overridden by the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2015 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, but it still sits in the state constitution. Supporters argue that scrubbing the old language and affirmatively guaranteeing marriage equality protects same-sex couples if federal law or federal precedent shifts.7Equality Virginia. Equality Virginia on Governor Signing Marriage Equality Referendum
The ballot question asks: “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?”7Equality Virginia. Equality Virginia on Governor Signing Marriage Equality Referendum
The underlying resolution, HJ3, passed the House 67-31 and the Senate 26-13 in final approval, and Governor Spanberger signed the companion bill, House Bill 612.8Virginia Independent News. Referendum: Reproductive Rights, Marriage Equality, Voting Rights Constitutional Amendments7Equality Virginia. Equality Virginia on Governor Signing Marriage Equality Referendum The Virginia Catholic Conference opposes the measure and is urging a “no” vote.6Virginia Catholic Conference. Constitutional Amendments 2026
Felony Voting Rights Restoration Amendment
The voting rights amendment, HJ2, would end Virginia’s practice of permanent felony disenfranchisement. Under current law, a Virginian convicted of a felony permanently loses the right to vote unless the governor individually restores it. The amendment would make restoration automatic the moment a person is released from incarceration, with no further state action or gubernatorial intervention required. Voting rights would be withheld only during the actual period of incarceration for a felony.9Virginia Legislative Information System. HJ2 – Constitutional Amendment, Fundamental Right to Vote
A separate provision keeps the vote out of reach for people adjudicated as lacking the capacity to understand the act of voting, until that capacity is reestablished by law.9Virginia Legislative Information System. HJ2 – Constitutional Amendment, Fundamental Right to Vote
HJ2 cleared its second required legislative vote in January 2026, passing the House 65-33 and the Senate by voice vote after Republican amendments were rejected. Final legislative signing occurred on March 31, 2026. The voting rights measure is not currently facing any legal challenge.9Virginia Legislative Information System. HJ2 – Constitutional Amendment, Fundamental Right to Vote10Virginia Independent News. Virginia Voters Will Decide 3 Ballot Measures in November General Election
The Redistricting Amendment That Was Voided
A fourth amendment deserves a brief mention because it was on a 2026 ballot and may still cause confusion. The redistricting amendment, introduced as HJ4 by Del. Rodney Willett, would have let the General Assembly temporarily redraw one or more congressional districts between January 1, 2025, and October 31, 2030, if another state had redrawn its own districts mid-decade. Virginia’s bipartisan Redistricting Commission would have regained exclusive map-drawing authority starting in 2031.11Virginia Department of Elections. Proposed Amendment for April 2026 Special Election
Voters approved the measure at a special election on April 21, 2026. On May 8, 2026, the Virginia Supreme Court ruled 4-3 in McDougle v. Scott that the amendment was void. The majority, in an opinion by Justice D. Arthur Kelsey, held that a “general election” under Article XII, Section 1 of the state constitution includes the early voting period, not just Election Day. Because the General Assembly first voted on the amendment during a special session in late October 2025, after early voting for the November 2025 House of Delegates election had already begun, the required intervening election had not actually intervened. Chief Justice Cleo E. Powell dissented. The court declared that “this violation irreparably undermines the integrity of the resulting referendum vote and renders it null and void.” The 2021 court-drawn congressional maps remain in effect for the 2026 elections.12State Court Report. McDougle v. Scott13Virginia Lawyers Weekly. Supreme Court Virginia Vacates Redistricting Amendment14Virginia Scope. McDougle Talks Supreme Court Win15Virginia Department of Elections. Supreme Court of Virginia Voids April 21 Redistricting Referendum
How a Constitutional Amendment Reaches the Virginia Ballot
Virginia makes amending its constitution slow by design. Under Article XII, Section 1, a proposed amendment must be approved by a majority of the elected members of both chambers of the General Assembly, then referred to the General Assembly that convenes after the next general election of House of Delegates members, where it must pass both chambers a second time. Only then does it go to voters, in a statewide referendum held no sooner than ninety days after that final legislative passage. A simple majority of those voting is enough to ratify it.16Virginia Code Commission. Constitution of Virginia, Article XII, Section 1
The three amendments on the November 3, 2026 ballot all completed that two-session process. The governor plays no formal role in the amendment itself, though she signs the companion legislation that sets the referendum date and certifies the ballot question language.
Where Public Opinion Stood
A Wason Center for Civic Leadership poll at Christopher Newport University, conducted in January 2026 among 807 registered Virginia voters with a 4.4-point margin of error, gave an early read on the three amendments now headed to the November ballot.17Christopher Newport University. Wason Center Survey Archive
The reproductive rights amendment drew 66% support and 28% opposition. The partisan split was wide: 91% of Democrats, 64% of independents, and 33% of Republicans supported it. Women backed it at 74%, men at 58%.17Christopher Newport University. Wason Center Survey Archive
The felony voting rights restoration amendment polled at 64% support and 30% opposition, with 82% of Democrats, 68% of independents, and 36% of Republicans in favor. Black Virginians backed it at 80%, white Virginians at 61%.17Christopher Newport University. Wason Center Survey Archive
The poll did not test the marriage equality amendment.