NBC News projects that Virginia voters have enshrined the right to reproductive freedoms, marriage equality and voting rights for former felons in the state constitution.
The votes mean:
- future state legislatures cannot change laws about reproductive rights in Virginia
- same-sex marriage in Virginia would remain legal even if the Supreme Court were to reverse its 2015 decision that made it legal nationwide
- and that people convicted of felonies will be eligible to vote once they’ve completed their sentences
Virginia Question 1: reproductive freedoms
On Virginia’s ballot Question 1, voters said yes to amending Virginia’s state constitution to include current legal protections for reproductive freedoms, including the freedom to “make personal decisions about prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, birth control, abortion, miscarriage management, and fertility care,” according to Virginia’s Department of Elections.
The amendment also says abortion will be legal until the third trimester, at which point the procedure would be allowed only if the fetus is not viable or a physician considers an abortion necessary to protect the health of the fetus or mother. Virginia state abortion laws will be codified in the state constitution and protected from legislative changes. See the full text of the amendment here.
Virginia Question 2: remove same-sex marriage ban
Voters also selected yes on Question 2, which will remove language in Virginia’s state constitution saying marriage is a union between one man and one woman.
Instead, it will state that all legally valid marriages will be treated equally under the law. Virginia’s state constitution will include protections for same-sex marriage, should the Supreme Court ever reverse its 2015 decision. See the full text of the amendment here.
Virginia Question 3: restore felons’ voting rights upon release
Question 3 concerned the voting rights of former felons. The constitutional amendment will ensure that felons in Virginia lose their vote to right only while incarcerated.
People convicted of felonies will be eligible to vote again after completing their sentences. Right now, voting rights can only be restored to formerly incarcerated felons by the governor or similar authorities.
See the full text of the amendment here.
The commonwealth had been debating the three proposed constitutional amendments for months. The process for an amendment to get onto the ballot in Virginia is intense, and these contenders got their start years ago.
In Virginia, resolutions recommended as bills in committee then need to pass the General Assembly twice as bills, with an election between votes. Only then can constitutional amendments go onto a ballot for voters to make the final decision.
