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Subcommittee advances omnibus list-maintenance bill after contested hearing over SAVE and ERIC

House Privileges and Elections Subcommittee · February 10, 2026

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Summary

House bill 972, an omnibus list-maintenance measure incorporating HB 966, was reported out after debate over safeguards for voter removals, use of the SAVE program, and possible membership in ERIC; sponsor said the measure adds FOIA-able records and appeal steps to prevent erroneous purges.

Delegate Marcia Price presented HB 972 (incorporating HB 966) as a list-maintenance omnibus intended to tighten recordkeeping and add guardrails before a voter's registration is canceled. She described provisions requiring a recorded action subject to FOIA when a registration is canceled; constrained, case-by-case use of the federal SAVE system; additional notifications and a right of appeal before a cancellation; and limits on data exchanges with other states absent legal authorization and MOUs (see presentation SEG 1172—nd).

Supporters including the New Virginia Majority, the League of Women Voters and several faith and civil-rights organizations said the bill would prevent eligible voters being wrongly removed from rolls. Sheba Williams said an earlier 2023 purge removed thousands a week before an election and that this legislation would help prevent similar incidents.

Opponents, including Dr. Clarabel Wheeler and other election-security witnesses, argued the bill weakens existing safeguards, questioned ERIC membership language and urged audits and vendor bidding rather than automatic readmission. Concerns included sending minors' data and social security numbers out-of-state under ERIC and fiscal implications of membership fees.

The subcommittee accepted substitutes and amendments and reported HB 972 on a vote of 6 to 1. The sponsor said the changes are intended to "make it harder for people to get accidentally kicked off the voting rolls" while preserving necessary authority for list maintenance.

What's next: HB 972 will proceed from committee; stakeholders requested written clarification from the Department of Elections on certain moved text sections before a floor vote.