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Virginia subcommittee backs bill letting localities set satellite voting days and hours
Summary
The Elections Administration Subcommittee reported House Bill 71 with a substitute, 6-1, after hearing sponsors and local officials say the change would let county governing bodies set days and hours for in-person absentee satellite sites while preserving a statewide minimum floor.
Delegate Reeser presented House Bill 71 and a substitute that, the sponsor said, would restore the bill to the form it passed in prior sessions. The substitute would allow local governing bodies to designate days and hours for in-person absentee satellite voting while leaving in place a state "floor" of minimum hours the General Assembly has established.
Supporters said the measure resolves a practical gap: current law permits localities to establish satellite sites but not to set their days or hours, and electoral boards can undercut a satellite's usefulness by reducing hours. Elizabeth Parker, representing Loudoun County, and Tram Nguyen of New Virginia Majority told the subcommittee that local ordinance authority would create transparency and consistency and prevent hours from being effectively eliminated.
Opponents included Luke Purdie on behalf of the Virginia Electoral Boards Association, who said electoral boards are best positioned to determine staffing and voter demand and asked the committee to post the bill. The patron responded that the measure is permissive and that localities would not be required to exercise the option.
The committee moved to report HB 71 as substituted. The clerk closed the roll and the bill passed the subcommittee by a vote of 6 to 1. The committee record shows no additional amendments applied in committee.
