Electoral reform in Virginia

Electoral reform in Virginia refers to efforts to change the electoral system in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Virginia has undergone much electoral change since its settling in 1607, many of which were required by federal legislation. However, it remains a relatively conservative state in this respect compared to California and others which have experimented with various alternative systems.

Originally, U.S. Senators were chosen by the Virginia General Assembly. On February 19, 1914, legislation was introduced in the Virginia House of Delegates calling for the direct election of United States senators by the voters of Virginia. This followed enactment of the Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution on April 8, 1913. Virginia had not voted to ratify the amendment.

There have been many changes designed to make the electoral system more favorable to third parties. These included allowing write-in ballots in U.S. presidential elections. In 1998, SB 316 was passed, changing the number of signatures required for ballot access as follows:

Currently, the ballot access requirements are as follows:

In 2003, FairVote's analysis of Virginia's voting systems determined that amendments to the Constitution of Virginia might be required to implement instant runoff voting in statewide executive elections. § 24.2-673 of the Code of Virginia appears to require use of the plurality system in local executive office elections

HB 2739, a bill to implement instant runoff voting statewide, was introduced by Del. William K. Barlow in 2003 but stricken at his request. In 2004, Barlow introduced HB 956, a bill to allow IRV on a test basis in localities; it died in committee. However, Barlow remained confident that "instant runoff is going to happen soon". Virginians for Instant Runoff Voting organized in 2006 and launched plans to implement the system in more student government elections. IRV is used in single-winner student government elections at the University of Virginia, as promulgated in III(G)(3) of the Spring 2007 University Board of Elections Rules and Regulations. UVA's use of the system predates VIRV's formation.

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