By Sarah Roderick Fitch
(The Center Square) – Three amendments are one step closer to being enshrined in the Virginia Constitution after passing the Senate on Tuesday. These amendments address abortion rights, marriage equality, and the restoration of voting rights for formerly incarcerated felons.
The resolutions on abortion and voting rights passed along party lines, while the marriage equality resolution received bipartisan support with a 24-15 vote. Democrats currently hold a 21-19 majority in the Senate for the four-year terms through December 2027.
Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin cannot veto constitutional amendments. The process requires these amendments to be approved twice over two years, with a legislative election in between. If approved again, the proposed amendments will appear on the 2026 ballot for voters’ consideration.
The abortion amendment aims to protect reproductive freedom in Virginia. It ensures individuals have the right to make decisions about prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, contraception, abortion, miscarriage management, and fertility care. Republicans proposed amendments to the resolution, including parental consent for minors and a clause guaranteeing a baby’s rights if born alive. These proposals failed.
The second amendment pertains to restoring voting rights for individuals convicted of felonies. According to the amendment, “A person who has been convicted of a felony shall not be entitled to vote during any period of incarceration for such felony conviction, but upon release from incarceration for that felony conviction and without further action required of him, such person shall be invested with all political rights, including the right to vote.” This represents a shift from the current system, which requires the governor or another authority to restore voting rights.
The third amendment would define marriage as a union between “two adult persons” and repeal the prohibition on same-sex marriage. The amendment further states, “The amendment prohibits the Commonwealth and its political subdivisions from denying the issuance of a marriage license to two adult persons seeking a lawful marriage on the basis of the sex, gender, or race of such persons.” The resolution repeals outdated constitutional provisions invalidated by the U.S. Supreme Court’s Obergefell v. Hodges decision.
Senate Republicans criticized the votes and referenced comments made by former Gov. Ralph Northam in 2019 regarding infanticide. The Virginia Senate GOP stated in a post on X, “Today, EVERY SINGLE Democrat in the Virginia Senate voted to reject an amendment that would guarantee a baby’s rights to life if born ALIVE…It wasn’t a gaffe, it was the groundwork to where we are today.”
Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, D-Mount Vernon, celebrated the passage of the resolutions, saying, “Senate Democrats ran on codifying Roe v. Wade, affirming marriage equality, and excising Jim Crow from the Constitution of Virginia, and today we delivered. This starts the process of giving Virginia voters a chance to affirm cherished rights.”
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