Ballot Question 1, enshrining access to contraception, fertility treatment, and abortion, passed with over 61 percent of the vote, according to unofficial results. Question 2, removing a defunct ban on same-sex marriage and affirming marriage regardless of sex, gender, or race, received 56 percent. Question 3, making the voting rights restoration process for formerly incarcerated people automatic, passed with 55 percent.
Constitutional amendments in Virginia must pass the General Assembly two years in a row before appearing on the ballot. The reproductive rights amendment drew the most debate, facing unanimous opposition from Republican lawmakers. Proponents sought the measure to cement protections in the only southern state without deep abortion restrictions or bans, spurred by the 2022 overturning of federal abortion protections and state-level challenges to related care.
“Never again will our reproductive rights be a political football in Virginia,” said Han Jones, campaign manager for Virginians for Reproductive Freedom, shortly after victory was declared. The amendment protects access to birth control, fertility treatments, and abortions through the second trimester, with a single physician required to approve late-term procedures.
The second amendment addresses a ban on same-sex marriage that has been in place since 2006 but rendered moot by the 2015 Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges. “Tonight's victory belongs to generations of Virginians who organized, advocated and fought for equality, often without knowing whether they would live to see this day,” said Narissa Rahaman, Executive Director at Equality Virginia.
The third amendment shifts the restoration of voting rights from a process requiring a gubernatorial pardon or successful petition to an automatic one for people with felony convictions who have completed their sentences. Del. Mike Cherry, a Republican from Colonial Heights who carried an earlier version of the bill, said, “If a judge didn't give you a life sentence, we shouldn't give you a life sentence as a society. Once you've been adjudicated for your crime and you've served your time, then your right should be restored.” Governor Abigail Spanberger has restored rights to over 60,000 people this year.
Both the reproductive rights and marriage amendments face legal challenges. The Founding Freedoms Law Center, the legal arm of the conservative Family Foundation, has filed a lawsuit arguing that the ballot language for the reproductive rights amendment was misleading and that proper procedure was not followed. A circuit court judge has set a hearing for November 13. A separate case has been filed challenging the marriage amendment on behalf of a pastor in Prince William County. Family Foundation president Victoria Cobb said in a statement, “This fight is not over. It moves today to the courtroom and the Capitol.”