{"formats":[{"name":"JSON","format":"json","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-json\/24.2-307.json"},{"name":"Plain Text","format":"text","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-text\/24.2-307.txt"},{"name":"XML","format":"xml","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-xml\/24.2-307.xml"},{"name":"HTML","format":"html","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-html\/24.2-307.html"}],"law_id":71718,"edition_id":1,"section_id":71718,"structure_id":16319,"section_number":"24.2-307","catch_line":"Requirements for county and city precincts","history":"Code 1950, \u00a7\u00a7 24-45, 24-46; 1954, c. 375; 1956, c. 378; 1962, cc. 185, 536; 1970, c. 462, \u00a7\u00a7 24.1-36, 24.1-37; 1971, Ex. Sess., c. 119; 1976, c. 616; 1977, c. 30; 1978, c. 778; 1980, c. 639; 1992, c. 445; 1993, c. 641; 1999, c. 515; 2020, c. 1268.","full_text":"The governing body of each county and city shall establish by ordinance as many precincts as it deems necessary. Each governing body is authorized to increase or decrease the number of precincts and alter precinct boundaries subject to the requirements of this chapter.\n\t\tAt the time any precinct is established, it shall have no more than 5,000 registered voters. The general registrar shall notify the governing body whenever the number of voters who voted in a precinct in an election for President of the United States exceeds 4,000. Within six months of receiving the notice, the governing body shall proceed to revise the precinct boundaries, and any newly established or redrawn precinct shall have no more than 5,000 registered voters.\n\t\tAt the time any precinct is established, each precinct in a county shall have no fewer than 100 registered voters and each precinct in a city shall have no fewer than 500 registered voters.\n\t\tEach precinct shall be wholly contained within a single congressional district, Senate district, House of Delegates district, and election district used for the election of one or more members of the governing body or school board for the county or city. In each year ending in one, the governing body of each county and city shall establish the precinct boundaries to be consistent with any congressional district, Senate district, House of Delegates district, and local election district that was adopted by the appropriate authority by June 15 of that year. If congressional districts, Senate districts, House of Delegates districts, or local election districts have not been adopted by the appropriate authority by June 15 of a year ending in one, the governing body may use the congressional districts, Senate districts, House of Delegates districts, or local election districts as such districts existed on June 15 of that year as the basis for establishing the precinct boundaries to be used for the elections to be held in November of that year. Such governing body shall establish precinct boundaries to be consistent with any subsequent changes to the congressional districts, Senate districts, House of Delegates districts, or local election districts. If a governing body is unable to establish a precinct with the minimum number of registered voters without splitting the precinct between two or more congressional districts, Senate districts, House of Delegates districts, or local election districts, it shall apply to the State Board for a waiver to administer a split precinct. The State Board may grant the waiver or direct the governing body to establish a precinct with fewer than the minimum number of registered voters as permitted by \u00a7 24.2-309. A governing body granted a waiver to administer a split precinct or directed to establish a precinct with fewer than the minimum number of registered voters may use such a precinct for any election held that year.\n\t\tThe governing body shall establish by ordinance one polling place for each precinct.","order_by":null,"text":{"0":{"id":258403,"text":"The governing body of each county and city shall establish by ordinance as many precincts as it deems necessary. Each governing body is authorized to increase or decrease the number of precincts and alter precinct boundaries subject to the requirements of this chapter.\n\t\tAt the time any precinct is established, it shall have no more than 5,000 registered voters. The general registrar shall notify the governing body whenever the number of voters who voted in a precinct in an election for President of the United States exceeds 4,000. Within six months of receiving the notice, the governing body shall proceed to revise the precinct boundaries, and any newly established or redrawn precinct shall have no more than 5,000 registered voters.\n\t\tAt the time any precinct is established, each precinct in a county shall have no fewer than 100 registered voters and each precinct in a city shall have no fewer than 500 registered voters.\n\t\tEach precinct shall be wholly contained within a single congressional district, Senate district, House of Delegates district, and election district used for the election of one or more members of the governing body or school board for the county or city. In each year ending in one, the governing body of each county and city shall establish the precinct boundaries to be consistent with any congressional district, Senate district, House of Delegates district, and local election district that was adopted by the appropriate authority by June 15 of that year. If congressional districts, Senate districts, House of Delegates districts, or local election districts have not been adopted by the appropriate authority by June 15 of a year ending in one, the governing body may use the congressional districts, Senate districts, House of Delegates districts, or local election districts as such districts existed on June 15 of that year as the basis for establishing the precinct boundaries to be used for the elections to be held in November of that year. Such governing body shall establish precinct boundaries to be consistent with any subsequent changes to the congressional districts, Senate districts, House of Delegates districts, or local election districts. If a governing body is unable to establish a precinct with the minimum number of registered voters without splitting the precinct between two or more congressional districts, Senate districts, House of Delegates districts, or local election districts, it shall apply to the State Board for a waiver to administer a split precinct. The State Board may grant the waiver or direct the governing body to establish a precinct with fewer than the minimum number of registered voters as permitted by \u00a7 24.2-309. A governing body granted a waiver to administer a split precinct or directed to establish a precinct with fewer than the minimum number of registered voters may use such a precinct for any election held that year.\n\t\tThe governing body shall establish by ordinance one polling place for each precinct.","type":"section","prefixes":[""],"prefix":"","entire_prefix":"","prefix_anchor":"","level":1}},"ancestry":[{"id":16319,"edition_id":1,"name":"Requirements for Election Districts, Precincts, and Polling Places","identifier":"3","label":"article","depth":3,"order_by":1,"parent_id":13389,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 04:13:47","date_modified":"2026-06-26 04:13:47","permalink":{"id":187747,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":16319,"identifier":"3","token":"24.2\/3\/3","url":"\/24.2\/3\/3\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":13389,"edition_id":1,"name":"Election Districts, Precincts, and Polling Places","identifier":"3","label":"chapter","depth":2,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12937,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:44:47","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:44:47","permalink":{"id":187667,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":13389,"identifier":"3","token":"24.2\/3","url":"\/24.2\/3\/","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":85013,"structure_id":16319,"section_number":"24.2-305","catch_line":"Composition of election districts and precincts","url":"\/24.2-305\/","token":"24.2\/3\/3\/24.2-305","metadata":false},{"id":76644,"structure_id":16319,"section_number":"24.2-306","catch_line":"Changes not to be enacted within 60 days of general election; notice requirements","url":"\/24.2-306\/","token":"24.2\/3\/3\/24.2-306","metadata":false},{"id":71718,"structure_id":16319,"section_number":"24.2-307","catch_line":"Requirements for county and city precincts","url":"\/24.2-307\/","token":"24.2\/3\/3\/24.2-307","metadata":false},{"id":76372,"structure_id":16319,"section_number":"24.2-308","catch_line":"Requirements for town precincts","url":"\/24.2-308\/","token":"24.2\/3\/3\/24.2-308","metadata":false},{"id":67861,"structure_id":16319,"section_number":"24.2-309","catch_line":"Establishment of precinct with less than minimum number of voters; conduct of elections where all voters do not have same choice of candidates","url":"\/24.2-309\/","token":"24.2\/3\/3\/24.2-309","metadata":false},{"id":84638,"structure_id":16319,"section_number":"24.2-309.1","catch_line":"Repealed","url":"\/24.2-309.1\/","token":"24.2\/3\/3\/24.2-309.1","metadata":false},{"id":68688,"structure_id":16319,"section_number":"24.2-309.2","catch_line":"Election precincts; prohibiting precinct changes for specified period of time","url":"\/24.2-309.2\/","token":"24.2\/3\/3\/24.2-309.2","metadata":false},{"id":66699,"structure_id":16319,"section_number":"24.2-310","catch_line":"Requirements for polling places","url":"\/24.2-310\/","token":"24.2\/3\/3\/24.2-310","metadata":false},{"id":76944,"structure_id":16319,"section_number":"24.2-310.1","catch_line":"Polling places; additional requirement","url":"\/24.2-310.1\/","token":"24.2\/3\/3\/24.2-310.1","metadata":false}],"previous_section":{"id":76644,"structure_id":16319,"section_number":"24.2-306","catch_line":"Changes not to be enacted within 60 days of general election; notice requirements","url":"\/24.2-306\/","token":"24.2\/3\/3\/24.2-306","metadata":false},"next_section":{"id":76372,"structure_id":16319,"section_number":"24.2-308","catch_line":"Requirements for town precincts","url":"\/24.2-308\/","token":"24.2\/3\/3\/24.2-308","metadata":false},"metadata":false,"official_url":"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/vacode\/24.2-307\/","history_text":"

The record of this law\u2019s original creation isn\u2019t available online. It has been modified 12 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 1954, chapter 375; in 1956, chapter 378; in 1962, chapters 185 and 536; in 1970, chapter 462; in 1976, chapter 616; in 1977, chapter 30; in 1978, chapter 778; in 1980, chapter 639; in 1992, chapter 445; in 1993, chapter 641; in 1999, chapter 515<\/a>; in 2020, chapter 1268<\/a>.<\/p>","references":[{"id":61543,"section_number":"24.2-101","catch_line":"Definitions","order_by":null,"url":"\/24.2-101\/"},{"id":68688,"section_number":"24.2-309.2","catch_line":"Election precincts; prohibiting precinct changes for specified period of time","order_by":null,"url":"\/24.2-309.2\/"},{"id":66699,"section_number":"24.2-310","catch_line":"Requirements for polling places","order_by":null,"url":"\/24.2-310\/"},{"id":76944,"section_number":"24.2-310.1","catch_line":"Polling places; additional requirement","order_by":null,"url":"\/24.2-310.1\/"}],"refers_to":[{"id":67861,"section_number":"24.2-309","catch_line":"Establishment of precinct with less than minimum number of voters; conduct of elections where all voters do not have same choice of candidates","order_by":null,"url":"\/24.2-309\/"}],"permalink":{"id":187757,"object_type":"law","relational_id":71718,"identifier":"24.2-307","token":"24.2\/3\/3\/24.2-307","url":"\/24.2-307\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1},"url":"\/24.2-307\/","token":"24.2\/3\/3\/24.2-307","dublin_core":{"Title":"Requirements for county and city precincts","Type":"Text","Format":"text\/html","Identifier":"\u00a7 24.2-307","Relation":"Code of Virginia"},"html":"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

The governing body of each county and city shall establish by ordinance<\/span> as many precincts<\/span> as it deems necessary. Each governing body is authorized to increase or decrease the number of precincts<\/span> and alter precinct<\/span> boundaries subject to the requirements of this chapter.\n\t\tAt the time any precinct<\/span> is established, it shall have no more than 5,000 registered voters<\/span>. The general registrar<\/span> shall notify the governing body whenever the number of voters who voted in a precinct<\/span> in an election for President of the United States exceeds 4,000. Within six months of receiving the notice, the governing body shall proceed to revise the precinct<\/span> boundaries, and any newly established or redrawn precinct<\/span> shall have no more than 5,000 registered voters<\/span>.\n\t\tAt the time any precinct<\/span> is established, each precinct<\/span> in a county shall have no fewer than 100 registered voters<\/span> and each precinct<\/span> in a city shall have no fewer than 500 registered voters<\/span>.\n\t\tEach precinct<\/span> shall be wholly contained within a single congressional district, Senate district, House of Delegates district, and election district<\/span> used for the election of one or more members of the governing body or school board for the county or city. In each year ending in one, the governing body of each county and city shall establish the precinct<\/span> boundaries to be consistent with any congressional district, Senate district, House of Delegates district, and local election district<\/span> that was adopted by the appropriate authority by June 15 of that year. If congressional districts, Senate districts, House of Delegates districts, or local election districts<\/span> have not been adopted by the appropriate authority by June 15 of a year ending in one, the governing body may use the congressional districts, Senate districts, House of Delegates districts, or local election districts<\/span> as such districts existed on June 15 of that year as the basis for establishing the precinct<\/span> boundaries to be used for the elections<\/span> to be held in November of that year. Such governing body shall establish precinct<\/span> boundaries to be consistent with any subsequent changes to the congressional districts, Senate districts, House of Delegates districts, or local election districts<\/span>. If a governing body is unable to establish a precinct<\/span> with the minimum number of registered voters<\/span> without splitting the precinct<\/span> between two or more congressional districts, Senate districts, House of Delegates districts, or local election districts<\/span>, it shall apply to the State Board<\/span> for a waiver<\/span> to administer a split precinct<\/span>. The State Board<\/span> may grant the waiver<\/span> or direct the governing body to establish a precinct<\/span> with fewer than the minimum number of registered voters<\/span> as permitted by \u00a7 24.2-309<\/a>. A governing body granted a waiver<\/span> to administer a split precinct<\/span> or directed to establish a precinct<\/span> with fewer than the minimum number of registered voters<\/span> may use such a precinct<\/span> for any election held that year.\n\t\tThe governing body shall establish by ordinance<\/span> one polling place<\/span> for each precinct<\/span>.<\/p><\/section>","plain_text":" CODE OF VIRGINIA\n\nREQUIREMENTS FOR COUNTY AND CITY PRECINCTS (\u00a7 24.2-307)\n\nThe governing body of each county and city shall establish by ordinance as many\nprecincts as it deems necessary. Each governing body is authorized to increase\nor decrease the number of precincts and alter precinct boundaries subject to the\nrequirements of this chapter.\n\t\tAt the time any precinct is established, it shall have no more than 5,000\nregistered voters. The general registrar shall notify the governing body\nwhenever the number of voters who voted in a precinct in an election for\nPresident of the United States exceeds 4,000. Within six months of receiving the\nnotice, the governing body shall proceed to revise the precinct boundaries, and\nany newly established or redrawn precinct shall have no more than 5,000\nregistered voters.\n\t\tAt the time any precinct is established, each precinct in a county shall have\nno fewer than 100 registered voters and each precinct in a city shall have no\nfewer than 500 registered voters.\n\t\tEach precinct shall be wholly contained within a single congressional\ndistrict, Senate district, House of Delegates district, and election district\nused for the election of one or more members of the governing body or school\nboard for the county or city. In each year ending in one, the governing body of\neach county and city shall establish the precinct boundaries to be consistent\nwith any congressional district, Senate district, House of Delegates district,\nand local election district that was adopted by the appropriate authority by\nJune 15 of that year. If congressional districts, Senate districts, House of\nDelegates districts, or local election districts have not been adopted by the\nappropriate authority by June 15 of a year ending in one, the governing body may\nuse the congressional districts, Senate districts, House of Delegates districts,\nor local election districts as such districts existed on June 15 of that year as\nthe basis for establishing the precinct boundaries to be used for the elections\nto be held in November of that year. Such governing body shall establish\nprecinct boundaries to be consistent with any subsequent changes to the\ncongressional districts, Senate districts, House of Delegates districts, or\nlocal election districts. If a governing body is unable to establish a precinct\nwith the minimum number of registered voters without splitting the precinct\nbetween two or more congressional districts, Senate districts, House of\nDelegates districts, or local election districts, it shall apply to the State\nBoard for a waiver to administer a split precinct. The State Board may grant the\nwaiver or direct the governing body to establish a precinct with fewer than the\nminimum number of registered voters as permitted by \u00a7 24.2-309. A governing\nbody granted a waiver to administer a split precinct or directed to establish a\nprecinct with fewer than the minimum number of registered voters may use such a\nprecinct for any election held that year.\n\t\tThe governing body shall establish by ordinance one polling place for each\nprecinct.\n\nHISTORY: Code 1950, \u00a7\u00a7 24-45, 24-46; 1954, c. 375; 1956, c. 378; 1962, cc.\n185, 536; 1970, c. 462, \u00a7\u00a7 24.1-36, 24.1-37; 1971, Ex. Sess., c. 119; 1976, c.\n616; 1977, c. 30; 1978, c. 778; 1980, c. 639; 1992, c. 445; 1993, c. 641; 1999,\nc. 515; 2020, c. 1268.","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}}