The Virginia House Committee on Privileges and Elections advanced all four proposed constitutional amendments — covering reproductive freedom, automatic restoration of voting rights for returning citizens, marriage equality, and a mid-decade congressional redistricting trigger — over significant Republican opposition, sending each to the full House for a floor vote.
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Delegate Eric Phillips asked why the amendment did not require completion of restitution before rights are restored, and Dr. Michael Huffman (Virginia Assembly of Independent Baptists) stated the omission 'sends a wrong message to the victim.' Patron Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker responded that 'denying the right to vote based on ability to pay creates a modern day poll tax' and clarified the amendment 'does not eliminate anyone's obligation to pay restitution.'
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“It flips Roe on its head whether you agree with Roe or not. In Roe, the state had a legitimate interest in the fetus. This amendment does not do that. It gives the woman the right to do what she wants to do. And I'm not here to argue about people not being able to do what they want to do. But there should be a state interest in a viable fetus and not someone in their third trimester who. I'm not saying this to be flippant, but who decides in the third trimester? I am mentally stressed out. I'm not prepared for this and I need an abortion.”
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Sign in to subscribeGood afternoon. I call this meeting of the House Committee on Privileges and Elections to order. Our first order of business will be to take attendance. So if the clerk will please open the roll and if members will record your presence, The committee will be at ease. It's the green button, All right. And because this is the first one, we're just going to go old school and we're going to do verbal attendance. So listen for your names, please. Excuse me. Give me a minute. Delegate Price. Here. Delegate Convert. Fowler. Here. Delegate Crizette. Here. Delegate Reed. Present. Delegate Glass. Here. Delegate Glass. Here. Delegate A cold. Present. Delegate Henson. Here. Delegate Anthony. Here. Delegate Levir. Bowling. Present. Delegate Zing. Present. Delegate bolivar. Here. Delegate McAuliffe. Here. Delegate Carnegie. Here. Delegate Carroll. Present. Delegate Cole. Here. Delegate o'. Quinn. Here. Delegate Leftwich. Here. Delegate Bloxham. Here. Delegate Scott. Here. Delegate Watchman. Here. Delegate Cherry. Here. And Delegate Phillips. Here. All right, with the quorum established. Thank you, Madam Clerk. We will get started. First, I would like to welcome everyone to the 2026 legislative session. You are in the room of the longest continuously running committee in the…
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