Virginia 2018 ballot measures
Two statewide ballot measures were certified for the ballot in Virginia on November 6, 2018. Both were approved.
On the ballot
Type | Title | Subject | Description | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
LRCA | Question 1 | Taxes | Authorizes local property tax exemptions for flood abatement, mitigation, or resiliency | ![]() |
LRCA | Question 2 | Taxes | Removes a restriction on a tax exemption for the surviving spouse of a disabled veteran | ![]() |
Getting measures on the ballot
As of 2018, Virginia did not allow the initiative and referendum process, so all ballot measures needed to be referred by the legislature. The 2018 state legislative session ran from January 10, 2018, through March 10, 2018, during which time the legislature had the power to place legislatively referred constitutional amendments on the ballot. Legislatively referred amendments can be proposed by either house of the legislature and must be approved by a simple majority of members of both houses during two consecutive legislative sessions. Once on the ballot, amendments must be approved by a simple majority of electors to be enacted.
Historical facts
- See also: List of Virginia ballot measures
- A total of 29 measures appeared on statewide ballots between 1995 and 2016.
- From 1995 to 2016, an average of three measures appeared on the ballot during even-numbered years in Virginia.
- The number of measures appearing on even-year statewide ballots between 1995 and 2016 ranged from zero to five.
- Between 1995 and 2016, 86.21 percent (25 of 29) of statewide ballots were approved by voters, and 13.79 percent (4 of 29) were defeated.
Summary of campaign contributions
- See also: Ballot measure campaign finance, 2018
The following chart illustrates how much support and opposition committees had amassed in campaign contributions for each measure on the ballot:
Ballot Measure: | Support contributions: | Opposition contributions: | Outcome: |
---|---|---|---|
Virginia Question 1 | $0.00 | $0.00 | ![]() |
Virginia Question 2 | $0.00 | $0.00 | ![]() |
Not on the ballot
The list below contains measures that were proposed and reached a certain stage in the initiative or referral process, but did not make the ballot.
Type | Title | Subject | Description | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
LRCA | Legislative Review of Administrative Rules Amendment | Legislature | Allows the legislature to review and reject administrative rules and regulations | ![]() |
LRCA | Legislative Suspension of Administrative Rules Amendment | Legislature | Allows the legislature to suspend and nullify administrative rules and regulations | ![]() |
LRCA | Transportation Revenue Lockbox Amendment | Budget | Creates a lockbox for transportation funds | ![]() |
Effect of 2017 House elections
Since Virginia is one of 12 states in which legislative approval of proposed constitutional amendments is required in two successive sessions before going to the ballot, legislative elections in Virginia can determine the fate of legislatively referred constitutional amendments that are part way through the process. Elections for the office of Virginia House of Delegates took place in 2017. All 100 house seats were up for election. The general election took place on November 7, 2017. Going into the election, Republicans controlled the state House by a 66-34 majority. In 2017, the state Senate was also controlled by Republicans 21-19 and remained so going into 2018. It was with this Republican control of the legislature that the potential proposed constitutional amendments listed above were approved. The results of the 2017 House of Delegates election and details about the impact of the election on two potential 2018 constitutional amendments are below:
Virginia House of Delegates | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | Before November 7, 2017 | After November 7, 2017 | |
Democratic Party | 34 | 49 | |
Republican Party | 66 | 51 | |
Total | 100 | 100 |
During the 2017 session of the Virginia General Assembly, legislators approved two constitutional amendments designed to empower the legislature to review and reject state administrative rules. The amendments, known as Senate Joint Resolution 295 (SJR 295) and House Joint Resolution 545 (HJR 545), faced opposition from all but one legislative Democrat. Most Republicans voted to approve the amendments, although 15 percent rejected SJR 295 and 20 percent rejected HJR 545. Due to Republicans’ 66-member majority in the state House, the party could afford to lose some votes to the opposition and still pass the amendments.
In Virginia, the state legislature needs to approve constitutional amendments over the course of two legislative sessions to get the amendments placed on the ballot for voter consideration. A simple majority vote is required in each legislative chamber in each session. Both SJR 295 and HJR 545 would have appeared on the ballot at the election on November 6, 2018, if the legislature had approved them again in 2018.
The two constitutional amendments were proposed in November 2016, just days after the general election, at a time when Democrats held the executive offices of governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, and secretary of state in Virginia. Republicans controlled both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly. Following the 2017 election, Democrats retained control of the executive offices.
Sen. Jill Vogel (R-27) was the lead sponsor of SJR 295. Vogel was the GOP’s nominee for lieutenant governor in 2017, but lost the election to Democrat Justin Fairfax. SJR 295 would have empowered the legislature to “review any administrative rule to ensure it is consistent with the legislative intent of the statute that the rule was written to interpret, prescribe, implement, or enforce” and to approve or reject the administrative rule. Ten House Republicans voted against SJR 295.[1]
Rep. Chris Head (R-17) was the lead sponsor of HJR 545. He won re-election in 2017. HJR 545 would have authorized the state legislature to suspend or nullify administrative rules and regulations by a simple majority vote of each legislative chamber. The measure would have also empowered the legislature to establish a committee or commission to suspend administrative rules until the end of the next regular session while the legislature was not in a regular session. Thirteen House Republicans voted against HJR 545.[2]
If Republicans had lost control of the state House of Delegates, the 2017 legislative session votes indicated that the proposals to empower the legislature to suspend or reject administrative rules would have had a difficult time surviving committee and floor votes. As Republicans retained 51 of the chamber’s 100 seats, the amendments' survival would have required that the party’s representatives be able to convince their five colleagues who voted against both proposals and were re-elected in 2017—Reps. Campbell, Edmunds, Garrett, Jones, and Ware—to vote for at least one of them in 2018. Ultimately, the amendments were not put on the ballot.
Amendment | 2017 vote | 2017 House control | 2018 vote | 2018 House control | Status | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Click link for details | Senate | House | Republican | Senate | House | Republican | |
SJR 295 | 21-19 | 53-42 | ![]() |
--- | --- | ![]() |
Not on the ballot |
HJR 545 | 21-19 | 52-46 | ![]() |
--- | --- | ![]() |
Not on the ballot |
See also
![]() |
State of Virginia Richmond (capital) |
---|---|
Elections |
What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2024 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures |
Government |
Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy |