republic-os/legislation/us/states/va/2020/hb-207.md

---
type: "Bill"
title: "Absentee voting; no excuse required, permanent absentee voter list."
description: "Absentee voting; no excuse; permanent absentee voter list. 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. The bill also provides for a special application by which any registered voter may apply to receive absentee ballots for all elections in which he is eligible to vote. A voter on the permanent absentee voter list remains on the list until the voter requests in writing to be removed from the list, the voter's registration is canceled or placed on inactive status pursuant to law, an absentee ballot sent to the voter is returned as undeliverable, or the voter moves to a different address not in the same county or city of his registration. The provisions of the bill providing for a permanent absentee voter list do not become effective until July 1, 2021. "
jurisdiction: "us/states/va"
legislature: "Virginia General Assembly"
session: "2020"
identifier: "HB 207"
citation: "Virginia HB 207 (2020)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Schuyler T. VanValkenburg"]
version_count: 5
action_count: 47
vote_count: 11
first_action: "2019-12-27"
last_action: "2020-04-22"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/a5a5636b-f18c-47a8-9621-7b39c967d654"
source_url: "https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+sum+HB207"
source_hash: "d24ccbeef62c7a847171dad241b812c8a91490fbaa1ebdf75636d55146ae211d"
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 207 (2020) — Absentee voting; no excuse required, permanent absentee voter list.

Absentee voting; no excuse; permanent absentee voter list. 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. The bill also provides for a special application by which any registered voter may apply to receive absentee ballots for all elections in which he is eligible to vote. A voter on the permanent absentee voter list remains on the list until the voter requests in writing to be removed from the list, the voter's registration is canceled or placed on inactive status pursuant to law, an absentee ballot sent to the voter is returned as undeliverable, or the voter moves to a different address not in the same county or city of his registration. The provisions of the bill providing for a permanent absentee voter list do not become effective until July 1, 2021. 

## Version chain

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

1. **Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP1201)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+CHAP1201)
2. **Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB207ER)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+HB207ER)
3. **Engrossed by House as amended HB207E** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+HB207E)
4. **Impact statement from DPB (HB207)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+HB207)
5. **Reenrolled bill text (HB207ER2)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+HB207ER2)

## Votes

- Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendments (4-Y 2-N) — **4–2** (pass) · lower
- VOTE: Passage (53-Y 46-N) — **52–46** (pass) · lower
- Reconsideration of Senate passage agreed to by Senate (40-Y 0-N) — **40–0** (pass) · upper
- Passed Senate with amendments (22-Y 18-N) — **22–18** (pass) · upper
- Constitutional reading dispensed (40-Y 0-N) — **40–0** (pass) · upper
- VOTE: (52-Y 43-N) — **51–43** (pass) · lower
- Senate concurred in Governor's recommendation (21-Y 19-N) — **21–19** (pass) · upper
- Passed Senate with amendments (21-Y 19-N) — **21–19** (pass) · upper
- Reported from Privileges and Elections with amendments (12-Y 9-N) — **12–9** (pass) · lower
- VOTE: Adoption (55-Y 41-N) — **54–41** (pass) · lower
- Reported from Privileges and Elections with amendments (8-Y 6-N) — **8–6** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Schuyler T. VanValkenburg — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2019-12-27** Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/08/20 20102060D `introduction`
- **2019-12-27** Referred to Committee on Privileges and Elections `referral-committee`
- **2020-01-13** Assigned P & E sub: Elections `referral-committee`
- **2020-01-20** Impact statement from DPB (HB207)
- **2020-01-21** Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendments (4-Y 2-N)
- **2020-01-21** House subcommittee amendments and substitutes offered
- **2020-01-24** Reported from Privileges and Elections with amendments (12-Y 9-N) `committee-passage`
- **2020-01-28** Read first time `reading-1`
- **2020-01-29** Read second time `reading-2`
- **2020-01-29** Committee amendments agreed to
- **2020-01-29** Engrossed by House as amended HB207E
- **2020-01-29** Printed as engrossed 20102060D-E
- **2020-01-30** Read third time and passed House (53-Y 46-N) `passage, reading-3`
- **2020-01-30** VOTE: Passage (53-Y 46-N)
- **2020-01-31** Constitutional reading dispensed
- **2020-01-31** Referred to Committee on Privileges and Elections `referral-committee`
- **2020-02-05** Impact statement from DPB (HB207E)
- **2020-02-18** Reported from Privileges and Elections with amendments (8-Y 6-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 amendments waived
- **2020-02-24** Committee amendments agreed to
- **2020-02-24** Engrossed by Senate as amended
- **2020-02-24** Passed Senate with amendments (22-Y 18-N) `passage`
- **2020-02-24** Reconsideration of Senate passage agreed to by Senate (40-Y 0-N)
- **2020-02-24** Passed Senate with amendments (21-Y 19-N) `passage`
- **2020-02-26** Placed on Calendar
- **2020-02-26** Senate amendments agreed to by House (55-Y 41-N)
- **2020-02-26** VOTE: Adoption (55-Y 41-N)
- **2020-03-02** Enrolled
- **2020-03-02** Impact statement from DPB (HB207ER)
- **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** Governor's recommendation received by House
- **2020-04-22** Placed on Calendar
- **2020-04-22** House concurred in Governor's recommendation (52-Y 43-N)
- **2020-04-22** VOTE: (52-Y 43-N)
- **2020-04-22** Senate concurred in Governor's recommendation (21-Y 19-N)
- **2020-04-22** Governor's recommendation adopted
- **2020-04-22** Reenrolled
- **2020-04-22** Reenrolled bill text (HB207ER2)
- **2020-04-22** Signed by Speaker as reenrolled
- **2020-04-22** Signed by President as reenrolled
- **2020-04-22** Enacted, Chapter 1201 (effective - see bill) `became-law`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/a5a5636b-f18c-47a8-9621-7b39c967d654`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).