republic-os/legislation/us/states/va/2022/hb-439.md

---
type: "Bill"
title: "Absentee ballots; information on proposed constitutional amendments."
description: "Absentee ballots; materials included; information on proposed constitutional amendments and referenda. Requires explanations of proposed constitutional amendments and information about statewide referenda to be included with the other materials sent with absentee ballots. These neutral explanations are prepared by a nonpartisan legislative agency, in consultation with appropriate state agencies and entities, and provided to the State Board of Elections for distribution to the voters. Currently, the explanations are made available at registration sites and are posted in polling places only."
jurisdiction: "us/states/va"
legislature: "Virginia General Assembly"
session: "2022"
identifier: "HB 439"
citation: "Virginia HB 439 (2022)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Schuyler T. VanValkenburg"]
version_count: 4
action_count: 31
vote_count: 8
first_action: "2022-01-11"
last_action: "2022-04-08"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/ab4ebd68-4e86-4148-9e29-245d711c9f2a"
source_url: "https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?221+sum+HB439"
source_hash: "386e44e4fce321892c468ae927e1a02dbe4902e6a72e2152688bf52e20e811d8"
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 439 (2022) — Absentee ballots; information on proposed constitutional amendments.

Absentee ballots; materials included; information on proposed constitutional amendments and referenda. Requires explanations of proposed constitutional amendments and information about statewide referenda to be included with the other materials sent with absentee ballots. These neutral explanations are prepared by a nonpartisan legislative agency, in consultation with appropriate state agencies and entities, and provided to the State Board of Elections for distribution to the voters. Currently, the explanations are made available at registration sites and are posted in polling places only.

## Version chain

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

1. **CHAP0254** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?221+ful+CHAP0254)
2. **Committee substitute printed 22105991D-H1** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?221+ful+HB439H1)
3. **HB439ER** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?221+ful+HB439ER)
4. **Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/12/22 22100718D** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?221+ful+HB439)

## Votes

- Reported from Privileges and Elections (15-Y 0-N) — **15–0** (pass) · upper
- Constitutional reading dispensed (40-Y 0-N) — **40–0** (pass) · upper
- VOTE: Passage (99-Y 0-N) — **98–0** (pass) · lower
- Passed Senate (39-Y 0-N) — **39–0** (pass) · upper
- Reconsideration of Senate passage agreed to by Senate (39-Y 0-N) — **39–0** (pass) · upper
- Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (8-Y 0-N) — **8–0** (pass) · lower
- Reported from Privileges and Elections with substitute (22-Y 0-N) — **22–0** (pass) · lower
- Passed Senate (39-Y 0-N) — **39–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Schuyler T. VanValkenburg — primary (person)
- Betsy B. Carr — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2022-01-11** Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/12/22 22100718D `introduction`
- **2022-01-11** Referred to Committee on Privileges and Elections `referral-committee`
- **2022-01-28** Impact statement from DPB (HB439)
- **2022-02-03** Assigned P & E sub: Subcommittee #3 `referral-committee`
- **2022-02-04** House subcommittee amendments and substitutes offered
- **2022-02-04** Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (8-Y 0-N)
- **2022-02-04** House committee, floor amendments and substitutes offered
- **2022-02-04** Reported from Privileges and Elections with substitute (22-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
- **2022-02-04** Committee substitute printed 22105991D-H1 `substitution`
- **2022-02-08** Read first time `reading-1`
- **2022-02-09** Read second time `reading-2`
- **2022-02-09** Committee substitute agreed to 22105991D-H1
- **2022-02-09** Engrossed by House - committee substitute HB439H1
- **2022-02-10** Read third time and passed House (99-Y 0-N) `passage, reading-3`
- **2022-02-10** VOTE: Passage (99-Y 0-N)
- **2022-02-11** Constitutional reading dispensed
- **2022-02-11** Referred to Committee on Privileges and Elections `referral-committee`
- **2022-02-14** Impact statement from DPB (HB439H1)
- **2022-02-22** Reported from Privileges and Elections (15-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
- **2022-02-24** Constitutional reading dispensed (40-Y 0-N)
- **2022-02-25** Read third time `reading-3`
- **2022-02-25** Passed Senate (39-Y 0-N) `passage`
- **2022-02-25** Reconsideration of Senate passage agreed to by Senate (39-Y 0-N)
- **2022-02-25** Passed Senate (39-Y 0-N) `passage`
- **2022-03-01** Enrolled
- **2022-03-01** Signed by Speaker
- **2022-03-02** Impact statement from DPB (HB439ER)
- **2022-03-02** Signed by President
- **2022-03-11** Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 11, 2022
- **2022-03-11** Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 11, 2022
- **2022-04-08** Approved by Governor-Chapter 254 (effective 7/1/22) `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/ab4ebd68-4e86-4148-9e29-245d711c9f2a`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).