Joint subcommittee outlines constitutional, statutory hurdles and long timeline to shift Virginia elections to even years

A joint subcommittee convened in Richmond on June 1, 2025, elected its leadership, adopted an electronic meeting policy and heard three presentations on the legal, political and administrative implications of consolidating Virginia’s statewide and local elections into even-numbered years.

The subcommittee — created by statute to study consolidation and scheduling of general elections — heard a legal briefing from Brooks Braun of the Division of Legislative Services, a political and historical overview from Henry Chambers, a University of Richmond law professor, and turnout and political analysis from Robert (Bob) Holdsworth, formerly of Virginia Commonwealth University.

Braun, senior attorney at the Division of Legislative Services, told the panel the principal legal obstacle is the Virginia Constitution’s current term and timing language for a set of offices. "The Constitution does not require elections to be held in odd number of years per se," he said, but the way terms are specified means a one-time shortening or lengthening of terms for multiple offices would be necessary to move to an even-year schedule. He listed examples: house members’ two‑year terms would need a one‑time shift to three years (or one year) and four‑year offices such as governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and state senators would need a one‑time change to three or five years. The clerk of court, with an eight‑year term, would require a one‑time change to seven or nine years.

Braun outlined two constitutional routes: a single‑year constitutional convention called by a two‑thirds vote of the General Assembly, which could be faster but harder to control, or the familiar two‑year resolution path that requires a second legislative approval and then voter ratification. He recommended appending a…