Virginia is famous for holding elections every year. But the process, arguably rooted in an effort to suppress the vote, has positives and negatives. Legislators in Richmond took early steps to consider changing Virginia’s election schedule Tuesday morning.
It’s hard not to view any significant election law changes outside of the national context. As Florida, Texas, New York and California all look to redistrict their congressional lines to favor their respective majorities, would Virginia shifting from voting every year to only on even years have federal impacts? Senator Schuyler VanValkenburg says maybe, but that’s not why he’s raised the idea.
“Politics comes at you fast so if you’re making election law changes based on short-term interests, you might end up screwing yourself,” the Henrico area Democrat told Radio IQ.
So, why consider switching Virginia to even-year elections?
“How are we best amplifying people’s voices and how are we ensuring we have good government?” VanValkenburg added.
Tuesday’s meeting of the Joint Subcommittee to Study the Consolidation and Scheduling of the General Election started with why Virginia has elections every year.
From 1776 to1830, Virginia's constitution had the House of Delegates elected every year and the governor selected by those delegates. In 1851, a new constitution created biennial legislative elections. It also empowered all white males with a vote.
Following the Civil War, President Ulysses S. Grant somewhat arbitrarily forced Virginia to hold elections. That technically started the off-year cycle, but efforts to change it in the years that followed were stymied.
University of Richmond political science professor Henry Chambers said the segregationist Harry Byrd and his Byrd Machine indulged the Commonwealth’s odd voting schedule with the idea of suppressing the vote.
“It’s easier to maintain power in circumstances where you’re voting year by year and you have a machine,” Chambers told the committee.
But changing election schedules now would require amendments to the state constitution and force currently elected officials to serve one less, or one more, year. It could also create what Chambers called a “lollapalooza ballot” for some years, with nearly every position in state and local government on the ballot.
“The focus on an election, and the focus on making sure some people may vote, and others cannot vote would be heightened,” he said after Delegate Cia Price asked if any changes in federal election law could impact Virginia’s state races. “The lead up to the lollapalooza election may have the effect, maybe not the intent, of limiting the electorate in a way that could be problematic.”
Virginia political analyst and managing partner with DecideSmart Bob Holsworth also offered a number of concerns to think about.
Election fundraising? "There'd be crowding in that search for dollars," Holsworth said.
Where would those dollars come from? "The sources of money would be different, there'd be competition," he said. "I don't know if national organizations would fund as much if we're one of 20 states to hold elections at the same time."
Holsworth also noted the Democratic party back in the 60's was more conservative than national Democrats. "Being a Virginia Democrat, you didn't want to be associated with national," he said. "Now, times have changed. In each of the last four Presidential cycles, Democrats have won by about 5 points."
Virginia's vote in the year following the presidential election also makes us unique - and consolidation would impact that.
"We'd lose some of our distinctiveness in those gubernatorial years," he said.
But Senator Scott Surovell also wondered if Virginia's governor races were being overly influenced because of their timing.
"It causes a whole lot of people from outside of Virginia to come here and try and make their point," the Fairfax County Democrat said. "I'm not sure how good it is for people to come in and spend all that money to prove their point."
"[Those groups] would spend less money, with less sources of money," Holsworth predicted.
Eastern Shore Delegate Rob Bloxom, the only Republican to show up for Tuesday’s meeting, noted Democrat’s efforts to expand early voting has raised costs annually.
“It’s an unfunded mandate,” Bloxom said, reiterating a point local election registrars have raised in the wake of 45 days of early voting. “We don’t want to limit access, but you’ve got to look at what it would cost to run an election.”
The financial impacts of election consolidation are scheduled to be dissected at a future meeting of the committee.
Bloxom also said he worried about the further nationalization of local offices which often run without party affiliation.
“They should be talking about potholes, the tree trimming, not immigration or abortion,” he said, calling those bids for office “local flair.”
“They’ll never vote on any of that, but it draws them into those conversations,” he said. “It ruins some of the local discourse.”
This also wouldn’t be the first time in recent years when Virginia shifted elections. Democrats consolidated many local races, once held in May, to November in 2021 and Bloxom said he’d yet to hear a local official in his district thank him for doing so.
“They go into November, and they get lost,” he said, also noting it can drive up costs for local races. “Those elections are competing for costs with us, its greats higher demand and makes prices [of elections] cost.”
As to whether there is a political lean on the idea of consolidating elections, Bloxom agreed more with VanValkenburg.
“Sometimes what you think is going to happen, the exact opposite happens,” he said. “I’m afraid if you’ve got everyone running on one year, you’d get that wave and then a knee jerk the other way.”
“Things have never happened fast in Virginia,” he said of the state’s history of divided government. “I think it's a better way to manage the state.”
Tuesday's meeting often ended with more questions than answers. There are plenty more meetings before any big decisions about consolidation would be made.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
