On the Ballot: Virginia’s Three Constitutional Amendments

Virginia voters will decide three proposed amendments to the Virginia Constitution on Nov. 3.

The questions deal with abortion and other pregnancy-related decisions, marriage, and voting rights after a felony conviction.

Each amendment is a separate question. Voters may vote yes or no on each one.

Below is the exact wording voters will see on the ballot, followed by a plain-language explanation of what each amendment would change.

1. Abortion, Birth Control, Pregnancy Care and Fertility Treatment

What the ballot will say

“Question: Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended to (i) protect the freedom to make personal decisions about prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, birth control, abortion, miscarriage management, and fertility care; (ii) protect doctors, nurses, and patients from being punished for these decisions; and (iii) allow for restrictions on access to abortion during the third trimester of pregnancy except when the patient’s health is at risk or the pregnancy cannot survive?”

What that means in plain language

The amendment would place protections for those medical and pregnancy-related decisions directly in the Virginia Constitution.

For abortion specifically, the amendment does not set a number of weeks after which abortion would automatically be prohibited.

Instead, Virginia would be allowed to regulate abortion care during the third trimester, subject to the exceptions written into the amendment.

Even during the third trimester, however, the state could not prohibit an abortion when a physician determines that the patient’s health is at risk or that the pregnancy cannot survive. The full proposed constitutional language is more specific, referring to protection of the patient’s life or physical or mental health, or when the fetus is not viable.

The amendment would also protect patients and medical providers from state punishment for exercising or assisting with the rights covered by the amendment.

The amendment also says the broader right to reproductive freedom could be limited only when justified by a compelling state interest, as defined in the amendment, and through the least restrictive means.

A YES vote: Adds these protections and limits on state regulation to the Virginia Constitution.

A NO vote: Does not add the proposed amendment to the Constitution.

2. Marriage

What the ballot will say

“Question: Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended to (i) remove the ban on same-sex marriage; (ii) affirm that two adults may marry regardless of sex, gender, or race; and (iii) require all legally valid marriages to be treated equally under the law?”

What that means in plain language

Virginia’s Constitution currently contains language stating that only a marriage between one man and one woman may be valid or recognized by Virginia.

That constitutional language remains on the books, but Virginia law currently provides that a marriage license cannot be denied to two people because of their sex, gender or race and requires lawful marriages to be recognized regardless of those characteristics.

The proposed amendment would remove the existing constitutional language and replace it with constitutional protections for lawful marriages between two adults. It would prohibit Virginia and its local governments from refusing a marriage license because of the sex, gender or race of the two adults and would require lawful marriages to be treated equally under state law.

A YES vote: Removes the existing same-sex marriage prohibition from the Virginia Constitution and replaces it with the proposed language.

A NO vote: Leaves the existing constitutional language unchanged.

3. Voting Rights After a Felony Conviction

What the ballot will say

“Question: Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended (i) to provide for the fundamental right to vote in the Commonwealth, (ii) to revise the qualifications of voters so that a person convicted of a felony is not entitled to vote during his period of incarceration but is automatically invested with the right to vote upon release from incarceration, and (iii) to update the existing prohibition on voting by persons found to be mentally incompetent to instead apply to persons who have been found to lack the capacity to understand the act of voting?”

What that means in plain language

Virginia’s Constitution currently says a person convicted of a felony cannot vote unless the person’s civil rights are restored by the governor or another appropriate authority.

However, a 2026 federal court ruling changed how that provision is currently applied. The Virginia Department of Elections says people convicted of felonies that were not recognized as common-law felonies in 1870 may now be eligible to register and vote without first obtaining a restoration of rights. Certain felony convictions still result in loss of voting rights unless those rights are restored.

The proposed amendment would put a different rule directly into the Constitution: a person convicted of any felony would be unable to vote while incarcerated for that conviction, and voting rights would be restored automatically upon release.

The amendment would also replace the current constitutional reference to someone found “mentally incompetent” with a narrower standard applying to a person whom a court finds unable to understand the act of voting.

A YES vote: Changes the Constitution so that a person convicted of a felony cannot vote while incarcerated for that conviction and automatically regains voting rights upon release. It also makes the other voting-related changes described above.

A NO vote: Leaves the current constitutional rules in place.

What Happens After the Vote?

Each amendment is decided separately.

If a majority of votes cast on a particular amendment are yes, that amendment becomes part of the Virginia Constitution. The General Assembly set Jan. 1, 2027 as the effective date for these proposals if approved.

Virginia law also requires the state to provide voters with the ballot question, the full proposed amendment and a neutral plain-English explanation.