Virginia State Board of Elections certifies June primary, approves voting system, ballot order, forms and policies

The Virginia State Board of Elections on July 1 certified the results of the June 17 primary, approved certification of the Election Systems & Software (ES&S) EVS 6.5 voting system for use in the commonwealth, determined ballot order for the 2025–26 cycle and approved several administrative forms and policies.

The board voted unanimously to certify abstracts of votes from localities and to declare primary winners the parties’ nominees for the November general election. Department of Elections staff told the board they had compared local abstracts to the election-night reporting system, ran turnout and voting-credit reports, and asked localities to resolve discrepancies before recommending certification.

Commissioner Susan Beals, Commissioner of Elections, briefed the board on administrative changes that took effect July 1, including a new electronic filing feature for independent expenditure reports and the first campaign finance review report. “This new feature makes these reports easy to file and easy for the public to view as well,” Beals said. The campaign finance review of the 2024 cycle found an overall committee compliance rate of 84 percent, staff said. Beals also said the cost of voter…