{"formats":[{"name":"JSON","format":"json","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-json\/24.2-101.json"},{"name":"Plain Text","format":"text","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-text\/24.2-101.txt"},{"name":"XML","format":"xml","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-xml\/24.2-101.xml"},{"name":"HTML","format":"html","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-html\/24.2-101.html"}],"law_id":61543,"edition_id":1,"section_id":61543,"structure_id":15715,"section_number":"24.2-101","catch_line":"Definitions","history":"Code 1950, \u00a7\u00a7 24-17, 24-18, 24-18.2, 24-22, 24-23, 24-44, 24-136, 24-137, 24-172, 24-346; 1956, c. 378; 1963, Ex. Sess., c. 2; 1964, c. 592; 1970, c. 462, \u00a7\u00a7 24.1-1, 24.1-41, 24.1-42, 24.1-93; 1971, Ex. Sess., cc. 119, 205, 265; 1972, c. 620; 1973, c. 30; 1974, c. 428; 1975, c. 515; 1977, cc. 30, 490; 1978, c. 778; 1982, c. 650; 1983, c. 461; 1989, c. 322; 1991, 1st Sp. Sess., c. 12; 1993, c. 641; 1996, cc. 72, 73; 1997, c. 801; 1998, c. 866; 2001, c. 719; 2002, c. 487; 2003, c. 1015; 2005, c. 384; 2006, cc. 205, 787, 892; 2007, c. 311; 2008, c. 880; 2009, cc. 865, 870, 874; 2010, c. 707; 2013, cc. 542, 684; 2014, cc. 540, 576; 2015, c. 740; 2016, cc. 18, 492; 2020, c. 294; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 471; 2022, cc. 125, 126; 2024, cc. 191, 515.","full_text":"As used in this title, unless the context requires a different meaning:\n\t\t“Ballot scanner machine” means the electronic counting machine in which a voter inserts a marked ballot to be scanned and the results tabulated.\n\t\t“Candidate” means a person who seeks or campaigns for an office of the Commonwealth or one of its governmental units in a general, primary, or special election and who is qualified to have his name placed on the ballot for the office. “Candidate” shall include a person who seeks the nomination of a political party or who, by reason of receiving the nomination of a political party for election to an office, is referred to as its nominee. For the purposes of Chapters 8 (\u00a7 24.2-800 et seq.), 9.3 (\u00a7 24.2-945 et seq.), and 9.5 (\u00a7 24.2-955 et seq.), “candidate” shall include any write-in candidate. However, no write-in candidate who has received less than 15 percent of the votes cast for the office shall be eligible to initiate an election contest pursuant to Article 2 (\u00a7 24.2-803 et seq.) of Chapter 8. For the purposes of Chapters 9.3 (\u00a7 24.2-945 et seq.) and 9.5 (\u00a7 24.2-955 et seq.), “candidate” shall include any person who raises or spends funds in order to seek or campaign for an office of the Commonwealth, excluding federal offices, or one of its governmental units in a party nomination process or general, primary, or special election; and such person shall be considered a candidate until a final report is filed pursuant to Article 3 (\u00a7 24.2-947 et seq.) of Chapter 9.3.\n\t\t“Central absentee voter precinct” means a precinct established pursuant to \u00a7 24.2-712 for the processing of absentee ballots for the county or city or any combination of precincts within the county or city.\n\t\t“Constitutional office” or “constitutional officer” means a county or city office or officer referred to in Article VII, \u00a7 4 of the Constitution of Virginia: clerk of the circuit court, attorney for the Commonwealth, sheriff, commissioner of the revenue, and treasurer.\n\t\t“Department of Elections” or “Department” means the state agency headed by the Commissioner of Elections.\n\t\t“Direct recording electronic machine” or “DRE” means the electronic voting machine on which a voter touches areas of a computer screen, or uses other control features, to mark a ballot and his vote is recorded electronically.\n\t\t“Election” means a general, primary, or special election.\n\t\t“Election district” means the territory designated by proper authority or by law which is represented by an official elected by the people, including the Commonwealth, a congressional district, a General Assembly district, or a district for the election of an official of a county, city, town, or other governmental unit.\n\t\t“Electoral board” or “local electoral board” means a board appointed pursuant to \u00a7 24.2-106 to administer elections for a county or city. The electoral board of the county in which a town or the greater part of a town is located shall administer the town’s elections.\n\t\t“Entrance of polling place” or “entrance to polling place” means an opening in the wall used for ingress to a structure.\n\t\t“General election” means an election held in the Commonwealth on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November or on the first Tuesday in May for the purpose of filling offices regularly scheduled by law to be filled at those times.\n\t\t“General registrar” means the person appointed by the electoral board of a county or city pursuant to \u00a7 24.2-110 to be responsible for all aspects of voter registration, in addition to other duties prescribed by this title. When performing duties related to the administration of elections, the general registrar is acting in his capacity as the director of elections for the locality in which he serves.\n\t\t“Machine-readable ballot” means a tangible ballot that is marked by a voter or by a system or device operated by a voter, is available for verification by the voter at the time the ballot is cast, and is then fed into and scanned by a separate counting machine capable of reading ballots and tabulating results.\n\t\t“Officer of election” means a person appointed by an electoral board pursuant to \u00a7 24.2-115 to serve at a polling place for any election.\n\t\t“Paper ballot” means a tangible ballot that is marked by a voter and then manually counted.\n\t\t“Party” or “political party” means an organization of citizens of the Commonwealth which, at either of the two preceding statewide general elections, received at least 10 percent of the total vote cast for any statewide office filled in that election. The organization shall have a state central committee and an office of elected state chairman which have been continually in existence for the six months preceding the filing of a nominee for any office.\n\t\t“Person with a disability” means a person with a disability as defined in \u00a7 51.5-40.1.\n\t\t“Polling place” means the structure that contains the one place provided for each precinct at which the qualified voters who are residents of the precinct may vote.\n\t\t“Precinct” means the territory designated by the governing body of a county, city, or town to be served by one polling place.\n\t\t“Primary” or “primary election” means an election held for the purpose of selecting a candidate to be the nominee of a political party for election to office.\n\t\t“Printed ballot” means a tangible ballot that is printed on paper and includes both machine-readable ballots and paper ballots.\n\t\t“Qualified voter” means a person who is entitled to vote pursuant to the Constitution of Virginia and who is (i) 18 years of age on or before the day of the election or qualified pursuant to \u00a7 24.2-403 or subsection D of \u00a7 24.2-544, (ii) a resident of the Commonwealth and of the precinct in which he offers to vote, and (iii) a registered voter. No person who has been convicted of a felony shall be a qualified voter unless his civil rights have been restored by the Governor or other appropriate authority. No person adjudicated incapacitated shall be a qualified voter unless his capacity has been reestablished as provided by law. Whether a signature should be counted towards satisfying the signature requirement of any petition shall be determined based on the signer of the petition’s qualification to vote. For purposes of determining if a signature on a petition shall be included in the count toward meeting the signature requirements of any petition, “qualified voter” shall include only persons maintained on the Virginia voter registration system (a) with active status and (b) with inactive status who are qualified to vote for the office for which the petition was circulated.\n\t\t“Qualified voter in a town” means a person who is a resident within the corporate boundaries of the town in which he offers to vote, duly registered in the county of his residence, and otherwise a qualified voter.\n\t\t“Referendum” means any election held pursuant to law to submit a question to the voters for approval or rejection.\n\t\t“Registered voter” means any person who is maintained on the Virginia voter registration system. All registered voters shall be maintained on the Virginia voter registration system with active status unless assigned to inactive status by a general registrar in accordance with Chapter 4 (\u00a7 24.2-400 et seq.). For purposes of applying the precinct size requirements of \u00a7 24.2-307, calculating election machine requirements pursuant to Article 3 (\u00a7 24.2-625 et seq.) of Chapter 6, mailing notices of local election district, precinct or polling place changes as required by subdivision 13 of \u00a7 24.2-114 and \u00a7 24.2-306, and determining the number of signatures required for candidate and voter petitions, “registered voter” shall include only persons maintained on the Virginia voter registration system with active status. For purposes of determining if a signature on a petition shall be included in the count toward meeting the signature requirements of any petition, “registered voter” shall include only persons maintained on the Virginia voter registration system (i) with active status and (ii) on inactive status who are qualified to vote for the office for which the petition was circulated.\n\t\t“Registration records” means all official records concerning the registration of qualified voters and shall include all records, lists, applications, and files, whether maintained in books, on cards, on automated data bases, or by any other legally permitted record-keeping method.\n\t\t“Residence” or “resident,” for all purposes of qualification to register and vote, means and requires both domicile and a place of abode. To establish domicile, a person must live in a particular locality with the intention to remain. A place of abode is the physical place where a person dwells.\n\t\t“Special election” means any election that is held pursuant to law to fill a vacancy in office or to hold a referendum.\n\t\t“State Board” or “Board” means the State Board of Elections.\n\t\t“Virginia voter registration system” or “voter registration system” means the automated central record-keeping system for all voters registered within the Commonwealth that is maintained as provided in Article 2 (\u00a7 24.2-404 et seq.) of Chapter 4.\n\t\t“Voting system” means the electronic voting and counting machines used at elections, including direct recording electronic machines (DRE), ballot scanner machines, and on-demand ballot printing systems and ballot marking devices used to manufacture or mark ballots to be cast by voters on electronic voting and counting machines.","order_by":null,"text":{"0":{"id":224743,"text":"As used in this title, unless the context requires a different meaning:\n\t\t“Ballot scanner machine” means the electronic counting machine in which a voter inserts a marked ballot to be scanned and the results tabulated.\n\t\t“Candidate” means a person who seeks or campaigns for an office of the Commonwealth or one of its governmental units in a general, primary, or special election and who is qualified to have his name placed on the ballot for the office. “Candidate” shall include a person who seeks the nomination of a political party or who, by reason of receiving the nomination of a political party for election to an office, is referred to as its nominee. For the purposes of Chapters 8 (\u00a7 24.2-800 et seq.), 9.3 (\u00a7 24.2-945 et seq.), and 9.5 (\u00a7 24.2-955 et seq.), “candidate” shall include any write-in candidate. However, no write-in candidate who has received less than 15 percent of the votes cast for the office shall be eligible to initiate an election contest pursuant to Article 2 (\u00a7 24.2-803 et seq.) of Chapter 8. For the purposes of Chapters 9.3 (\u00a7 24.2-945 et seq.) and 9.5 (\u00a7 24.2-955 et seq.), “candidate” shall include any person who raises or spends funds in order to seek or campaign for an office of the Commonwealth, excluding federal offices, or one of its governmental units in a party nomination process or general, primary, or special election; and such person shall be considered a candidate until a final report is filed pursuant to Article 3 (\u00a7 24.2-947 et seq.) of Chapter 9.3.\n\t\t“Central absentee voter precinct” means a precinct established pursuant to \u00a7 24.2-712 for the processing of absentee ballots for the county or city or any combination of precincts within the county or city.\n\t\t“Constitutional office” or “constitutional officer” means a county or city office or officer referred to in Article VII, \u00a7 4 of the Constitution of Virginia: clerk of the circuit court, attorney for the Commonwealth, sheriff, commissioner of the revenue, and treasurer.\n\t\t“Department of Elections” or “Department” means the state agency headed by the Commissioner of Elections.\n\t\t“Direct recording electronic machine” or “DRE” means the electronic voting machine on which a voter touches areas of a computer screen, or uses other control features, to mark a ballot and his vote is recorded electronically.\n\t\t“Election” means a general, primary, or special election.\n\t\t“Election district” means the territory designated by proper authority or by law which is represented by an official elected by the people, including the Commonwealth, a congressional district, a General Assembly district, or a district for the election of an official of a county, city, town, or other governmental unit.\n\t\t“Electoral board” or “local electoral board” means a board appointed pursuant to \u00a7 24.2-106 to administer elections for a county or city. The electoral board of the county in which a town or the greater part of a town is located shall administer the town’s elections.\n\t\t“Entrance of polling place” or “entrance to polling place” means an opening in the wall used for ingress to a structure.\n\t\t“General election” means an election held in the Commonwealth on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November or on the first Tuesday in May for the purpose of filling offices regularly scheduled by law to be filled at those times.\n\t\t“General registrar” means the person appointed by the electoral board of a county or city pursuant to \u00a7 24.2-110 to be responsible for all aspects of voter registration, in addition to other duties prescribed by this title. When performing duties related to the administration of elections, the general registrar is acting in his capacity as the director of elections for the locality in which he serves.\n\t\t“Machine-readable ballot” means a tangible ballot that is marked by a voter or by a system or device operated by a voter, is available for verification by the voter at the time the ballot is cast, and is then fed into and scanned by a separate counting machine capable of reading ballots and tabulating results.\n\t\t“Officer of election” means a person appointed by an electoral board pursuant to \u00a7 24.2-115 to serve at a polling place for any election.\n\t\t“Paper ballot” means a tangible ballot that is marked by a voter and then manually counted.\n\t\t“Party” or “political party” means an organization of citizens of the Commonwealth which, at either of the two preceding statewide general elections, received at least 10 percent of the total vote cast for any statewide office filled in that election. The organization shall have a state central committee and an office of elected state chairman which have been continually in existence for the six months preceding the filing of a nominee for any office.\n\t\t“Person with a disability” means a person with a disability as defined in \u00a7 51.5-40.1.\n\t\t“Polling place” means the structure that contains the one place provided for each precinct at which the qualified voters who are residents of the precinct may vote.\n\t\t“Precinct” means the territory designated by the governing body of a county, city, or town to be served by one polling place.\n\t\t“Primary” or “primary election” means an election held for the purpose of selecting a candidate to be the nominee of a political party for election to office.\n\t\t“Printed ballot” means a tangible ballot that is printed on paper and includes both machine-readable ballots and paper ballots.\n\t\t“Qualified voter” means a person who is entitled to vote pursuant to the Constitution of Virginia and who is (i) 18 years of age on or before the day of the election or qualified pursuant to \u00a7 24.2-403 or subsection D of \u00a7 24.2-544, (ii) a resident of the Commonwealth and of the precinct in which he offers to vote, and (iii) a registered voter. No person who has been convicted of a felony shall be a qualified voter unless his civil rights have been restored by the Governor or other appropriate authority. No person adjudicated incapacitated shall be a qualified voter unless his capacity has been reestablished as provided by law. Whether a signature should be counted towards satisfying the signature requirement of any petition shall be determined based on the signer of the petition’s qualification to vote. For purposes of determining if a signature on a petition shall be included in the count toward meeting the signature requirements of any petition, “qualified voter” shall include only persons maintained on the Virginia voter registration system (a) with active status and (b) with inactive status who are qualified to vote for the office for which the petition was circulated.\n\t\t“Qualified voter in a town” means a person who is a resident within the corporate boundaries of the town in which he offers to vote, duly registered in the county of his residence, and otherwise a qualified voter.\n\t\t“Referendum” means any election held pursuant to law to submit a question to the voters for approval or rejection.\n\t\t“Registered voter” means any person who is maintained on the Virginia voter registration system. All registered voters shall be maintained on the Virginia voter registration system with active status unless assigned to inactive status by a general registrar in accordance with Chapter 4 (\u00a7 24.2-400 et seq.). For purposes of applying the precinct size requirements of \u00a7 24.2-307, calculating election machine requirements pursuant to Article 3 (\u00a7 24.2-625 et seq.) of Chapter 6, mailing notices of local election district, precinct or polling place changes as required by subdivision 13 of \u00a7 24.2-114 and \u00a7 24.2-306, and determining the number of signatures required for candidate and voter petitions, “registered voter” shall include only persons maintained on the Virginia voter registration system with active status. For purposes of determining if a signature on a petition shall be included in the count toward meeting the signature requirements of any petition, “registered voter” shall include only persons maintained on the Virginia voter registration system (i) with active status and (ii) on inactive status who are qualified to vote for the office for which the petition was circulated.\n\t\t“Registration records” means all official records concerning the registration of qualified voters and shall include all records, lists, applications, and files, whether maintained in books, on cards, on automated data bases, or by any other legally permitted record-keeping method.\n\t\t“Residence” or “resident,” for all purposes of qualification to register and vote, means and requires both domicile and a place of abode. To establish domicile, a person must live in a particular locality with the intention to remain. A place of abode is the physical place where a person dwells.\n\t\t“Special election” means any election that is held pursuant to law to fill a vacancy in office or to hold a referendum.\n\t\t“State Board” or “Board” means the State Board of Elections.\n\t\t“Virginia voter registration system” or “voter registration system” means the automated central record-keeping system for all voters registered within the Commonwealth that is maintained as provided in Article 2 (\u00a7 24.2-404 et seq.) of Chapter 4.\n\t\t“Voting system” means the electronic voting and counting machines used at elections, including direct recording electronic machines (DRE), ballot scanner machines, and on-demand ballot printing systems and ballot marking devices used to manufacture or mark ballots to be cast by voters on electronic voting and counting machines.","type":"section","prefixes":[""],"prefix":"","entire_prefix":"","prefix_anchor":"","level":1}},"ancestry":[{"id":15715,"edition_id":1,"name":"Applicability; Definitions","identifier":"1","label":"article","depth":3,"order_by":1,"parent_id":13929,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:58:15","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:58:15","permalink":{"id":187153,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":15715,"identifier":"1","token":"24.2\/1\/1","url":"\/24.2\/1\/1\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":13929,"edition_id":1,"name":"General Provisions and Administration","identifier":"1","label":"chapter","depth":2,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12937,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:46:19","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:46:19","permalink":{"id":187151,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":13929,"identifier":"1","token":"24.2\/1","url":"\/24.2\/1\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12937,"edition_id":1,"name":"Elections","identifier":"24.2","label":"title","depth":1,"order_by":1,"parent_id":null,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:44:03","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:44:03","permalink":{"id":187149,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12937,"identifier":"24.2","token":"24.2","url":"\/24.2\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}}],"structure_contents":[{"id":60230,"structure_id":15715,"section_number":"24.2-100","catch_line":"Applicability of title","url":"\/24.2-100\/","token":"24.2\/1\/1\/24.2-100","metadata":false},{"id":61543,"structure_id":15715,"section_number":"24.2-101","catch_line":"Definitions","url":"\/24.2-101\/","token":"24.2\/1\/1\/24.2-101","metadata":false},{"id":73094,"structure_id":15715,"section_number":"24.2-101.01","catch_line":"Certified mail; subsequent mail or notices may be sent by regular mail","url":"\/24.2-101.01\/","token":"24.2\/1\/1\/24.2-101.01","metadata":false},{"id":70117,"structure_id":15715,"section_number":"24.2-101.1","catch_line":"Implementation of certain laws; special elections","url":"\/24.2-101.1\/","token":"24.2\/1\/1\/24.2-101.1","metadata":false}],"previous_section":{"id":60230,"structure_id":15715,"section_number":"24.2-100","catch_line":"Applicability of title","url":"\/24.2-100\/","token":"24.2\/1\/1\/24.2-100","metadata":false},"next_section":{"id":73094,"structure_id":15715,"section_number":"24.2-101.01","catch_line":"Certified mail; subsequent mail or notices may be sent by regular mail","url":"\/24.2-101.01\/","token":"24.2\/1\/1\/24.2-101.01","metadata":false},"metadata":false,"official_url":"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/vacode\/24.2-101\/","history_text":"

The record of this law\u2019s original creation isn\u2019t available online. It has been modified 32 times. Those modifications are cataloged by \u201cThe Acts of Assembly,\u201d a state publication, by year and chapter. Those modifications that can be read on the General Assembly\u2019s website will be linked accordingly. Those modifications are as follows: in 1956, chapter 378; in 1964, chapter 592; in 1970, chapter 462; in 1972, chapter 620; in 1973, chapter 30; in 1974, chapter 428; in 1975, chapter 515; in 1977, chapters 30 and 490; in 1978, chapter 778; in 1982, chapter 650; in 1983, chapter 461; in 1989, chapter 322; in 1993, chapter 641; in 1996, chapters 72<\/a> and 73<\/a>; in 1997, chapter 801<\/a>; in 1998, chapter 866<\/a>; in 2001, chapter 719<\/a>; in 2002, chapter 487<\/a>; in 2003, chapter 1015<\/a>; in 2005, chapter 384<\/a>; in 2006, chapters 205<\/a>, 787<\/a>, and 892<\/a>; in 2007, chapter 311<\/a>; in 2008, chapter 880<\/a>; in 2009, chapters 865<\/a>, 870<\/a>, and 874<\/a>; in 2010, chapter 707<\/a>; in 2013, chapters 542<\/a> and 684<\/a>; in 2014, chapters 540<\/a> and 576<\/a>; in 2015, chapter 740<\/a>; in 2016, chapters 18<\/a> and 492<\/a>; in 2020, chapter 294<\/a>; in 2022, chapters 125<\/a> and 126<\/a>; in 2024, chapters 191<\/a> and 515<\/a>.<\/p>","references":[{"id":76134,"section_number":"15.2-102","catch_line":"Definitions","order_by":null,"url":"\/15.2-102\/"},{"id":60439,"section_number":"15.2-2308","catch_line":"Boards of zoning appeals to be created; membership, organization, etc","order_by":null,"url":"\/15.2-2308\/"},{"id":56493,"section_number":"15.2-913","catch_line":"Ordinances regulating certain vendors","order_by":null,"url":"\/15.2-913\/"},{"id":66963,"section_number":"18.2-439","catch_line":"Acceptance of bribe by officer or candidate","order_by":null,"url":"\/18.2-439\/"},{"id":57870,"section_number":"2.2-435","catch_line":"Prohibition for state party chairman","order_by":null,"url":"\/2.2-435\/"},{"id":69078,"section_number":"24.2-241","catch_line":"State Board to be furnished names of nominated electors selected by political parties; certain national conventions; vacancies","order_by":null,"url":"\/24.2-241\/"},{"id":55695,"section_number":"24.2-242","catch_line":"How other groups may submit names of electors; oaths of electors","order_by":null,"url":"\/24.2-242\/"},{"id":76076,"section_number":"24.2-244","catch_line":"Convening of electors; filling vacancies; how electors required to vote","order_by":null,"url":"\/24.2-244\/"},{"id":73142,"section_number":"24.2-417.1","catch_line":"Registration residence requirements; 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As used in this title, unless the context requires a different meaning:\n\t\t“Ballot scanner machine<\/span>” means the electronic counting machine in which a voter inserts a marked ballot to be scanned and the results tabulated.\n\t\t“Candidate<\/span>” means a person who seeks or campaigns for an office of the Commonwealth or one of its governmental units in a general, primary, or special election<\/span> and who is qualified to have his name placed on the ballot for the office. “Candidate<\/span>” shall include a person who seeks the nomination of a political party<\/span> or who, by reason of receiving the nomination of a political party<\/span> for election to an office, is referred to as its nominee. For the purposes of Chapters 8 (\u00a7 24.2-800<\/a> et seq.), 9.3 (\u00a7 24.2-945<\/a> et seq.), and 9.5 (\u00a7 24.2-955<\/a> et seq.), “candidate<\/span>” shall include any write-in candidate<\/span>. However, no write-in candidate<\/span> who has received less than 15 percent of the votes cast for the office shall be eligible to initiate an election contest pursuant to Article 2 (\u00a7 24.2-803<\/a> et seq.) of Chapter 8. For the purposes of Chapters 9.3 (\u00a7 24.2-945<\/a> et seq.) and 9.5 (\u00a7 24.2-955<\/a> et seq.), “candidate<\/span>” shall include any person who raises or spends funds in order<\/span> to seek or campaign for an office of the Commonwealth, excluding federal offices, or one of its governmental units in a party nomination process or general, primary, or special election<\/span>; and such person shall be considered a candidate<\/span> until a final report is filed pursuant to Article 3 (\u00a7 24.2-947<\/a> et seq.) of Chapter 9.3.\n\t\t“Central absentee voter precinct<\/span>” means a precinct established pursuant to \u00a7 24.2-712<\/a> for the processing of absentee ballots for the county or city or any combination of precincts<\/span> within the county or city.\n\t\t“Constitutional office<\/span>” or “constitutional officer<\/span>” means a county or city office or officer referred to in Article VII, \u00a7 4 of the Constitution of Virginia: clerk of the circuit<\/span> court<\/span>, attorney for the Commonwealth, sheriff, commissioner of the revenue, and treasurer.\n\t\t“Department of Elections<\/span>” or “Department” means the state agency headed by the Commissioner of Elections.\n\t\t“Direct recording electronic machine<\/span>” or “DRE<\/span>” means the electronic voting machine on which a voter touches areas of a computer screen, or uses other control features, to mark a ballot and his vote is recorded electronically.\n\t\t“Election” means a general, primary, or special election<\/span>.\n\t\t“Election district<\/span>” means the territory designated by proper authority or by law<\/span> which is represented by an official elected by the people, including the Commonwealth, a congressional district, a General Assembly district, or a district for the election of an official of a county, city, town, or other governmental unit.\n\t\t“Electoral board” or “local electoral board<\/span>” means a board appointed pursuant to \u00a7 24.2-106<\/a> to administer elections for a county or city. The electoral board of the county in which a town or the greater part of a town is located shall administer the town’s elections.\n\t\t“Entrance of polling place<\/span>” or “entrance to polling place<\/span>” means an opening in the wall used for ingress to a structure.\n\t\t“General election<\/span>” means an election held in the Commonwealth on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November or on the first Tuesday in May for the purpose of filling offices regularly scheduled by law<\/span> to be filled at those times.\n\t\t“General registrar<\/span>” means the person appointed by the electoral board of a county or city pursuant to \u00a7 24.2-110<\/a> to be responsible for all aspects of voter registration, in addition to other duties prescribed by this title. When performing duties related to the administration of elections, the general registrar<\/span> is acting in his capacity as the director of elections for the locality in which he serves.\n\t\t“Machine-readable ballot<\/span>” means a tangible ballot that is marked by a voter or by a system or device operated by a voter, is available for verification by the voter at the time the ballot is cast, and is then fed into and scanned by a separate counting machine capable of reading ballots and tabulating results.\n\t\t“Officer of election<\/span>” means a person appointed by an electoral board pursuant to \u00a7 24.2-115<\/a> to serve at a polling place for any election.\n\t\t“Paper ballot<\/span>” means a tangible ballot that is marked by a voter and then manually counted.\n\t\t“Party” or “political party<\/span>” means an organization of citizens of the Commonwealth which, at either of the two preceding statewide general elections<\/span>, received at least 10 percent of the total vote cast for any statewide office filled in that election. The organization shall have a state central committee and an office of elected state chairman which have been continually in existence for the six months preceding the filing of a nominee for any office.\n\t\t“Person with a disability<\/span>” means a person with a disability<\/span> as defined in \u00a7 51.5-40.1<\/a>.\n\t\t“Polling place” means the structure that contains the one place provided for each precinct at which the qualified voters<\/span> who are residents of the precinct may vote.\n\t\t“Precinct” means the territory designated by the governing body of a county, city, or town to be served by one polling place.\n\t\t“Primary” or “primary election<\/span>” means an election held for the purpose of selecting a candidate<\/span> to be the nominee of a political party<\/span> for election to office.\n\t\t“Printed ballot<\/span>” means a tangible ballot that is printed on paper and includes both machine-readable ballots<\/span> and paper ballots<\/span>.\n\t\t“Qualified voter” means a person who is entitled to vote pursuant to the Constitution of Virginia and who is (i) 18 years of age on or before the day of the election or qualified pursuant to \u00a7 24.2-403<\/a> or subsection D of \u00a7 24.2-544<\/a>, (ii) a resident of the Commonwealth and of the precinct in which he offers to vote, and (iii) a registered voter<\/span>. No person who has been convicted of a felony<\/span> shall be a qualified voter unless his civil rights have been restored by the Governor or other appropriate authority. No person adjudicated incapacitated shall be a qualified voter unless his capacity has been reestablished as provided by law<\/span>. Whether a signature should be counted towards satisfying the signature requirement of any petition<\/span> shall be determined based on the signer of the petition<\/span>’s qualification to vote. For purposes of determining if a signature on a petition<\/span> shall be included in the count toward meeting the signature requirements of any petition<\/span>, “qualified voter” shall include only persons maintained on the Virginia voter registration system<\/span><\/span> (a) with active status and (b) with inactive status who are qualified to vote for the office for which the petition<\/span> was circulated.\n\t\t“Qualified voter in a town<\/span>” means a person who is a resident within the corporate boundaries of the town in which he offers to vote, duly registered in the county of his residence<\/span>, and otherwise a qualified voter.\n\t\t“Referendum<\/span>” means any election held pursuant to law<\/span> to submit a question to the voters for approval or rejection.\n\t\t“Registered voter<\/span>” means any person who is maintained on the Virginia voter registration system<\/span><\/span>. All registered voters<\/span> shall be maintained on the Virginia voter registration system<\/span><\/span> with active status unless assigned to inactive status by a general registrar<\/span> in accordance with Chapter 4 (\u00a7 24.2-400<\/a> et seq.). For purposes of applying the precinct size requirements of \u00a7 24.2-307<\/a>, calculating election machine requirements pursuant to Article 3 (\u00a7 24.2-625<\/a> et seq.) of Chapter 6, mailing notices of local election district<\/span>, precinct or polling place changes as required by subdivision 13 of \u00a7 24.2-114<\/a> and \u00a7 24.2-306<\/a>, and determining the number of signatures required for candidate<\/span> and voter petitions<\/span>, “registered voter<\/span>” shall include only persons maintained on the Virginia voter registration system<\/span><\/span> with active status. For purposes of determining if a signature on a petition<\/span> shall be included in the count toward meeting the signature requirements of any petition<\/span>, “registered voter<\/span>” shall include only persons maintained on the Virginia voter registration system<\/span><\/span> (i) with active status and (ii) on inactive status who are qualified to vote for the office for which the petition<\/span> was circulated.\n\t\t“Registration records<\/span>” means all official records concerning the registration of qualified voters<\/span> and shall include all records, lists, applications, and files, whether maintained in books, on cards, on automated data bases, or by any other legally permitted record-keeping method.\n\t\t“Residence<\/span>” or “resident,” for all purposes of qualification to register and vote, means and requires both domicile and a place of abode. To establish domicile, a person must live in a particular locality with the intention to remain. A place of abode is the physical place where a person dwells.\n\t\t“Special election<\/span>” means any election that is held pursuant to law<\/span> to fill a vacancy in office or to hold a referendum<\/span>.\n\t\t“State Board<\/span>” or “Board” means the State Board<\/span> of Elections.\n\t\t“Virginia voter registration system<\/span><\/span>” or “voter registration system<\/span>” means the automated central record-keeping system for all voters registered within the Commonwealth that is maintained as provided in Article 2 (\u00a7 24.2-404<\/a> et seq.) of Chapter 4.\n\t\t“Voting system<\/span>” means the electronic voting and counting machines used at elections, including direct recording electronic machines<\/span> (DRE<\/span>), ballot scanner machines<\/span>, and on-demand ballot printing systems and ballot marking devices used to manufacture or mark ballots to be cast by voters on electronic voting and counting machines.<\/p><\/section>","plain_text":" CODE OF VIRGINIA\n\nDEFINITIONS (\u00a7 24.2-101)\n\nAs used in this title, unless the context requires a different meaning:\n\t\t“Ballot scanner machine” means the electronic counting machine in\nwhich a voter inserts a marked ballot to be scanned and the results tabulated.\n\t\t“Candidate” means a person who seeks or campaigns for an office of\nthe Commonwealth or one of its governmental units in a general, primary, or\nspecial election and who is qualified to have his name placed on the ballot for\nthe office. “Candidate” shall include a person who seeks the\nnomination of a political party or who, by reason of receiving the nomination of\na political party for election to an office, is referred to as its nominee. For\nthe purposes of Chapters 8 (\u00a7 24.2-800 et seq.), 9.3 (\u00a7 24.2-945 et seq.), and\n9.5 (\u00a7 24.2-955 et seq.), “candidate” shall include any write-in\ncandidate. However, no write-in candidate who has received less than 15 percent\nof the votes cast for the office shall be eligible to initiate an election\ncontest pursuant to Article 2 (\u00a7 24.2-803 et seq.) of Chapter 8. For the\npurposes of Chapters 9.3 (\u00a7 24.2-945 et seq.) and 9.5 (\u00a7 24.2-955 et seq.),\n“candidate” shall include any person who raises or spends funds in\norder to seek or campaign for an office of the Commonwealth, excluding federal\noffices, or one of its governmental units in a party nomination process or\ngeneral, primary, or special election; and such person shall be considered a\ncandidate until a final report is filed pursuant to Article 3 (\u00a7 24.2-947 et\nseq.) of Chapter 9.3.\n\t\t“Central absentee voter precinct” means a precinct established\npursuant to \u00a7 24.2-712 for the processing of absentee ballots for the county or\ncity or any combination of precincts within the county or city.\n\t\t“Constitutional office” or “constitutional officer”\nmeans a county or city office or officer referred to in Article VII, \u00a7 4 of the\nConstitution of Virginia: clerk of the circuit court, attorney for the\nCommonwealth, sheriff, commissioner of the revenue, and treasurer.\n\t\t“Department of Elections” or “Department” means the\nstate agency headed by the Commissioner of Elections.\n\t\t“Direct recording electronic machine” or “DRE” means\nthe electronic voting machine on which a voter touches areas of a computer\nscreen, or uses other control features, to mark a ballot and his vote is\nrecorded electronically.\n\t\t“Election” means a general, primary, or special election.\n\t\t“Election district” means the territory designated by proper\nauthority or by law which is represented by an official elected by the people,\nincluding the Commonwealth, a congressional district, a General Assembly\ndistrict, or a district for the election of an official of a county, city, town,\nor other governmental unit.\n\t\t“Electoral board” or “local electoral board” means a\nboard appointed pursuant to \u00a7 24.2-106 to administer elections for a county or\ncity. The electoral board of the county in which a town or the greater part of a\ntown is located shall administer the town’s elections.\n\t\t“Entrance of polling place” or “entrance to polling\nplace” means an opening in the wall used for ingress to a structure.\n\t\t“General election” means an election held in the Commonwealth on\nthe Tuesday after the first Monday in November or on the first Tuesday in May\nfor the purpose of filling offices regularly scheduled by law to be filled at\nthose times.\n\t\t“General registrar” means the person appointed by the electoral\nboard of a county or city pursuant to \u00a7 24.2-110 to be responsible for all\naspects of voter registration, in addition to other duties prescribed by this\ntitle. When performing duties related to the administration of elections, the\ngeneral registrar is acting in his capacity as the director of elections for the\nlocality in which he serves.\n\t\t“Machine-readable ballot” means a tangible ballot that is marked\nby a voter or by a system or device operated by a voter, is available for\nverification by the voter at the time the ballot is cast, and is then fed into\nand scanned by a separate counting machine capable of reading ballots and\ntabulating results.\n\t\t“Officer of election” means a person appointed by an electoral\nboard pursuant to \u00a7 24.2-115 to serve at a polling place for any election.\n\t\t“Paper ballot” means a tangible ballot that is marked by a voter\nand then manually counted.\n\t\t“Party” or “political party” means an organization of\ncitizens of the Commonwealth which, at either of the two preceding statewide\ngeneral elections, received at least 10 percent of the total vote cast for any\nstatewide office filled in that election. The organization shall have a state\ncentral committee and an office of elected state chairman which have been\ncontinually in existence for the six months preceding the filing of a nominee\nfor any office.\n\t\t“Person with a disability” means a person with a disability as\ndefined in \u00a7 51.5-40.1.\n\t\t“Polling place” means the structure that contains the one place\nprovided for each precinct at which the qualified voters who are residents of\nthe precinct may vote.\n\t\t“Precinct” means the territory designated by the governing body of\na county, city, or town to be served by one polling place.\n\t\t“Primary” or “primary election” means an election held\nfor the purpose of selecting a candidate to be the nominee of a political party\nfor election to office.\n\t\t“Printed ballot” means a tangible ballot that is printed on paper\nand includes both machine-readable ballots and paper ballots.\n\t\t“Qualified voter” means a person who is entitled to vote pursuant\nto the Constitution of Virginia and who is (i) 18 years of age on or before the\nday of the election or qualified pursuant to \u00a7 24.2-403 or subsection D of \u00a7\n24.2-544, (ii) a resident of the Commonwealth and of the precinct in which he\noffers to vote, and (iii) a registered voter. No person who has been convicted\nof a felony shall be a qualified voter unless his civil rights have been\nrestored by the Governor or other appropriate authority. No person adjudicated\nincapacitated shall be a qualified voter unless his capacity has been\nreestablished as provided by law. Whether a signature should be counted towards\nsatisfying the signature requirement of any petition shall be determined based\non the signer of the petition’s qualification to vote. For purposes of\ndetermining if a signature on a petition shall be included in the count toward\nmeeting the signature requirements of any petition, “qualified\nvoter” shall include only persons maintained on the Virginia voter\nregistration system (a) with active status and (b) with inactive status who are\nqualified to vote for the office for which the petition was circulated.\n\t\t“Qualified voter in a town” means a person who is a resident\nwithin the corporate boundaries of the town in which he offers to vote, duly\nregistered in the county of his residence, and otherwise a qualified voter.\n\t\t“Referendum” means any election held pursuant to law to submit a\nquestion to the voters for approval or rejection.\n\t\t“Registered voter” means any person who is maintained on the\nVirginia voter registration system. All registered voters shall be maintained on\nthe Virginia voter registration system with active status unless assigned to\ninactive status by a general registrar in accordance with Chapter 4 (\u00a7 24.2-400\net seq.). For purposes of applying the precinct size requirements of \u00a7\n24.2-307, calculating election machine requirements pursuant to Article 3 (\u00a7\n24.2-625 et seq.) of Chapter 6, mailing notices of local election district,\nprecinct or polling place changes as required by subdivision 13 of \u00a7 24.2-114\nand \u00a7 24.2-306, and determining the number of signatures required for candidate\nand voter petitions, “registered voter” shall include only persons\nmaintained on the Virginia voter registration system with active status. For\npurposes of determining if a signature on a petition shall be included in the\ncount toward meeting the signature requirements of any petition,\n“registered voter” shall include only persons maintained on the\nVirginia voter registration system (i) with active status and (ii) on inactive\nstatus who are qualified to vote for the office for which the petition was\ncirculated.\n\t\t“Registration records” means all official records concerning the\nregistration of qualified voters and shall include all records, lists,\napplications, and files, whether maintained in books, on cards, on automated\ndata bases, or by any other legally permitted record-keeping method.\n\t\t“Residence” or “resident,” for all purposes of\nqualification to register and vote, means and requires both domicile and a place\nof abode. To establish domicile, a person must live in a particular locality\nwith the intention to remain. A place of abode is the physical place where a\nperson dwells.\n\t\t“Special election” means any election that is held pursuant to law\nto fill a vacancy in office or to hold a referendum.\n\t\t“State Board” or “Board” means the State Board of\nElections.\n\t\t“Virginia voter registration system” or “voter registration\nsystem” means the automated central record-keeping system for all voters\nregistered within the Commonwealth that is maintained as provided in Article 2\n(\u00a7 24.2-404 et seq.) of Chapter 4.\n\t\t“Voting system” means the electronic voting and counting machines\nused at elections, including direct recording electronic machines (DRE), ballot\nscanner machines, and on-demand ballot printing systems and ballot marking\ndevices used to manufacture or mark ballots to be cast by voters on electronic\nvoting and counting machines.\n\nHISTORY: Code 1950, \u00a7\u00a7 24-17, 24-18, 24-18.2, 24-22, 24-23, 24-44, 24-136,\n24-137, 24-172, 24-346; 1956, c. 378; 1963, Ex. Sess., c. 2; 1964, c. 592; 1970,\nc. 462, \u00a7\u00a7 24.1-1, 24.1-41, 24.1-42, 24.1-93; 1971, Ex. Sess., cc. 119, 205,\n265; 1972, c. 620; 1973, c. 30; 1974, c. 428; 1975, c. 515; 1977, cc. 30, 490;\n1978, c. 778; 1982, c. 650; 1983, c. 461; 1989, c. 322; 1991, 1st Sp. Sess., c.\n12; 1993, c. 641; 1996, cc. 72, 73; 1997, c. 801; 1998, c. 866; 2001, c. 719;\n2002, c. 487; 2003, c. 1015; 2005, c. 384; 2006, cc. 205, 787, 892; 2007, c.\n311; 2008, c. 880; 2009, cc. 865, 870, 874; 2010, c. 707; 2013, cc. 542, 684;\n2014, cc. 540, 576; 2015, c. 740; 2016, cc. 18, 492; 2020, c. 294; 2021, Sp.\nSess. I, c. 471; 2022, cc. 125, 126; 2024, cc. 191, 515.","edition":{"id":1,"name":"2025","slug":"2025","date_created":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","date_modified":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","current":1,"order_by":1,"last_import":null}}