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Below is a general summary of the potential election administration vulnerabilities identified in Virginia.

To read a detailed analysis of the vulnerabilities, intended to help pro-democracy groups protect our elections and fuel corrective action, please click here to request access. Please include the name of your organization in the request.

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Overview

Virginia has clear statutes and regulations in place to safeguard its election procedures, with additional guidance provided by the State Board of Elections. This leaves limited discretion in the hands of local Electoral Boards, General Registrars, and election staff. Additionally, Virginia law provides the State Board of Elections with strong corrective measures for mis- or mal-administration, including the power of the State Board to remove local officials for a failure to discharge their duties. This makes it unlikely that election deniers or subverters serving in an official role could fully undermine a Virginia election.

Still, Virginia’s elections and election-denying officials will need to be closely watched to ensure that any bad actors do not undermine the will of Virginia’s voters.

Below, we highlight aspects of elections targeted in the past and potential areas that may be vulnerable this election cycle.

The Potential for Disruption by Election Officials

NOTE: Informing Democracy’s analysis of election officials was conducted in 2023, based on research completed in advance of the 2023 Virginia elections. The 2023 elections were executed without significant disruption or subversive activities, despite a few notable anti-democracy concerns in the lead-up to November. Nonetheless, several underlying themes from that research remain critical to effectively monitoring Virginia elections and ensuring that any efforts from bad-faith actors do not undermine the will of the voters.

Recent elections in Virginia emphasize the strength of the system and state-level officials. Virginia conducted the 2023 General Election and 2024 Primary Election without disruptions from election officials. After a losing candidate in the 2024 primary elections attempted to sow doubt about the fairness of the election, the State Board of Elections reaffirmed the integrity of the elections, and praised the recount process which affirmed the results. In doing so, the State Board of Elections emphasized the difference between occasional issues resulting from human error that can be remedied within the process, and systemic problems. The SBE also took unanimous action to begin the removal process for a local Electoral Board member accused of failing to perform their duties and acting with partisanship, showing a willingness to remove bad actors. Additionally, the Commissioner of the Department of Elections, Susan Beal, has been proactive in combating election conspiracy theories.

• Anti-Democracy Activity Among Election Administrators: As of the 2023 elections, election deniers and subverters were in positions of power on local Electoral Boards. Individuals who embraced fringe election conspiracy theories, attended the January 6 rally in Washington, DC, and cast doubt on the integrity of Virginia’s elections administer elections in some cities and towns across the Commonwealth.
• State Board of Elections Powers: While state law would likely limit what damage could be done—owing to the structure of the State Board of Elections—if a majority of the board’s members were to blatantly violate state laws and support subversive efforts they could harm the integrity of the election, cause delay, and leave resolution in the hands of the courts. Based on elections already held in 2023 and 2024, we don’t believe the State Board of Election has a majority of election deniers or anti-democracy actors.
• Certification: Efforts to slow down or interfere with the canvass process is a common tactic used by election deniers in other states and poses some concern in Virginia. Canvass meetings in Virginia are pro forma (made or done as a formality) and there are a number of safeguards that allow for State Board intervention to protect the process.
• State Canvass: A concern would be if the State Election Board were to attempt to delay the canvass, refuse to certify, or simply refuse to use their enforcement powers to resolve any issues at the county level. Statewide certification is ministerial and the statute clearly states when the state canvass must begin. Litigation would almost certainly be necessary to resolve the subversive action of refusing to certify. As discussed above, however, the evidence from 2022 and 2023 suggests this is unlikely.

Variations in Local Practice

There is considerable uniformity in the counting and certification process in Virginia. The Virginia Code provides guidance on most steps in this process. Where there are gaps, the State Board of Elections is tasked with ensuring uniformity. They do this through coordination, training, and issuing rules, regulations, and supplemental guidance. They also often acting through the Virginia Department of Elections, which is headed by the Commissioner of Elections. However, Electoral Boards and General Registrars do have local discretion in some areas.

Absentee Ballot Processing

Electoral Boards and General Registrars have discretion over a couple of decisions relating to how and when absentee ballots are processed that might affect how quickly absentee ballots are counted.

• By statute, the Electoral Board may decide whether to open one or multiple Central Absentee Precincts in its locality. This could theoretically affect ballot processing speed, permitting some localities to publish counts sooner than others. However, in practice, it is more common for Electoral Boards to open only one location and to simply add more staff to that Central Absentee Precinct if needed.
• Second, the General Registrar has some discretion over when to start preprocessing absentee ballots. They must begin no late than October 29, 2024, but can begin as soon as ballots start being received. Theoretically, this could affect when localities complete their count and release results. However, it is unlikely that this discretion will have an impact. Regulations require all localities to have a minimum of two preprocessing meetings and further require a third preprocessing meeting on the Monday before the election if they are “unable to process all ballots in their possession on the morning of either the Friday or Saturday before election.” Therefore, under these regulations Registrar’s offices may accumulate at most three days of absentee ballots before starting final preprocessing on Election Day.

Local Procedures