republic-os/legislation/us/states/va/2020/hb-1.md

---
type: "Bill"
title: "Absentee voting; no excuse required, voting by absentee ballot."
description: "Absentee voting; no excuse required. Permits any registered voter to vote by absentee ballot in any election in which he is qualified to vote. The bill removes the current list of statutory reasons under which a person may be entitled to vote by absentee ballot and removes references to those reasons from other sections of the Code. This bill incorporates HB 25, HB 208, and HB 209."
jurisdiction: "us/states/va"
legislature: "Virginia General Assembly"
session: "2020"
identifier: "HB 1"
citation: "Virginia HB 1 (2020)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Charniele L. Herring"]
version_count: 4
action_count: 38
vote_count: 7
first_action: "2019-11-18"
last_action: "2020-04-11"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/17a0a47d-3aaa-4777-87bf-dceaeeb253e1"
source_url: "https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+sum+HB1"
source_hash: "6861910675c3350a5e12fa06fc3d688a34ab26de15c17fb8eb5681b611237956"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-va"]
---

# Virginia HB 1 (2020) — Absentee voting; no excuse required, voting by absentee ballot.

Absentee voting; no excuse required. Permits any registered voter to vote by absentee ballot in any election in which he is qualified to vote. The bill removes the current list of statutory reasons under which a person may be entitled to vote by absentee ballot and removes references to those reasons from other sections of the Code. This bill incorporates HB 25, HB 208, and HB 209.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP1149)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+CHAP1149)
2. **Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB1ER)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+HB1ER)
3. **Engrossed by House - committee substitute HB1H1** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+HB1H1)
4. **Impact statement from DPB (HB1)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+HB1)

## Votes

- VOTE: Passage (65-Y 35-N) — **64–35** (pass) · lower
- Reported from Privileges and Elections with amendment (10-Y 4-N) — **10–4** (pass) · upper
- Reported from Privileges and Elections with substitute (14-Y 8-N) — **14–8** (pass) · lower
- Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (4-Y 2-N) — **4–2** (pass) · lower
- Passed Senate with amendment (25-Y 15-N) — **25–15** (pass) · upper
- VOTE: Adoption (62-Y 34-N) — **61–34** (pass) · lower
- Constitutional reading dispensed (40-Y 0-N) — **40–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Charniele L. Herring — primary (person)
- Alfonso H. Lopez — cosponsor (person)
- Delores L. McQuinn — cosponsor (person)
- Eileen Filler-Corn — cosponsor (person)
- Elizabeth R. Guzman — cosponsor (person)
- Jennifer Carroll Foy — cosponsor (person)
- Jennifer L. McClellan — cosponsor (person)
- Kaye Kory — cosponsor (person)
- Lee J. Carter — cosponsor (person)
- Mark H. Levine — cosponsor (person)
- Mark L. Keam — cosponsor (person)
- Rodney T. Willett — cosponsor (person)
- Roslyn C. Tyler — cosponsor (person)
- Vivian E. Watts — cosponsor (person)
- Wendy W. Gooditis — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2019-11-18** Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/08/20 20101095D `introduction`
- **2019-11-18** Referred to Committee on Privileges and Elections `referral-committee`
- **2020-01-13** Assigned P & E sub: Elections `referral-committee`
- **2020-01-14** Impact statement from DPB (HB1)
- **2020-01-21** Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (4-Y 2-N)
- **2020-01-24** Reported from Privileges and Elections with substitute (14-Y 8-N) `committee-passage`
- **2020-01-24** Committee substitute printed 20106251D-H1 `substitution`
- **2020-01-24** Incorporates HB25 (Lindsey)
- **2020-01-24** Incorporates HB208 (Murphy)
- **2020-01-24** Incorporates HB209 (Murphy)
- **2020-01-28** Read first time `reading-1`
- **2020-01-29** Read second time `reading-2`
- **2020-01-29** Committee substitute agreed to 20106251D-H1
- **2020-01-29** Engrossed by House - committee substitute HB1H1
- **2020-01-30** Impact statement from DHCD/CLG (HB1)
- **2020-01-30** Impact statement from DPB (HB1H1)
- **2020-01-30** Read third time and passed House ((65-Y 35-N) `passage, reading-3`
- **2020-01-30** VOTE: Passage (65-Y 35-N)
- **2020-01-31** Constitutional reading dispensed
- **2020-01-31** Referred to Committee on Privileges and Elections `referral-committee`
- **2020-02-18** Reported from Privileges and Elections with amendment (10-Y 4-N) `committee-passage`
- **2020-02-20** Constitutional reading dispensed (40-Y 0-N)
- **2020-02-21** Passed by for the day
- **2020-02-24** Read third time `reading-3`
- **2020-02-24** Reading of amendment waived
- **2020-02-24** Committee amendment agreed to
- **2020-02-24** Engrossed by Senate as amended
- **2020-02-24** Passed Senate with amendment (25-Y 15-N) `passage`
- **2020-02-26** Placed on Calendar
- **2020-02-26** Senate amendment agreed to by House (62-Y 34-N)
- **2020-02-26** VOTE: Adoption (62-Y 34-N)
- **2020-03-02** Enrolled
- **2020-03-02** Impact statement from DPB (HB1ER)
- **2020-03-02** Signed by Speaker
- **2020-03-03** Signed by President
- **2020-03-12** Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 12, 2020
- **2020-03-12** Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 11, 2020
- **2020-04-11** Approved by Governor-Chapter 1149 (effective 7/1/20) `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/17a0a47d-3aaa-4777-87bf-dceaeeb253e1`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).