Youngkin acts on 84 bills: Marriage equality signed, election data sharing vetoed
RICHMOND — Gov. Glenn Youngkin acted on the first set of legislation to hit his desk this year, vetoing a bill that would place Virginia back into a multi-state program intended to prevent voter fraud and signing a measure to protect marriage equality.
He also amended a measure related to Virginia Beach’s city charter and how it conducts elections.
The governor generally has 30 days to decide on legislation. The Democrat-held legislature, however, recently sent over more than 80 bills on a fast-tracked 7-day timeline.
The governor signed 64 bills into law, amended 12 bills and vetoed eight others. The decisions came as the General Assembly was winding down its 60-day session, preparing to vote on the budget and adjourn Saturday.
“These bills cover a wide range of topic areas but demonstrate my continuing commitment to lowering the cost of living for Virginians, streamlining regulations, supporting our veterans, ensuring safe communities, and improving government efficiency,” Youngkin said in a statement.
The Virginia House Democratic Caucus slammed the governor’s vetoes and amendments and said it showed his allegiance to former President Donald Trump.
“(His action on these) critical pieces of legislation will do nothing more than ensure that guns are left in the hands of domestic abusers, restrict access to reproductive healthcare and threaten our democracy and our voting rights,” reads a statement from the caucus.
Here are a few of the bills.
Electronic Registration Information Center
Youngkin vetoed a bill that would have placed Virginia back into the Electronic Registration Information Center, a multi-state data-sharing program intended to help prevent voter fraud. By sharing information, states can more easily detect when a citizen has voted in multiple states or identify deceased individuals who remain on voter rolls.
The bipartisan program was launched by seven states in 2012. Four of those states were led by Republicans, including Virginia, by then-Gov. Bob McDonnell. The program was not initially controversial.
Fueled by Trump’s false claims about the 2020 elections, far-right conspiracy theorists made false accusations about ERIC and raised questions about its funding, leading several GOP-led states, including Virginia, to withdraw last year. After the leaving the program, Virginia joined a different data-sharing agreement with other states.
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Same-sex and interracial marriage
The governor signed a bill to protect marriage equality.
The legislation requires lawful marriages be recognized in Virginia regardless of gender or race, and states that “no person authorized to issue a marriage license shall deny the issuance of such license to two parties contemplating a lawful marriage on the basis of the sex, gender, or race of the parties.”
The bill clarifies that religious organizations or clergy members acting in their religious capacity maintain the right to refuse to perform any marriage.
Virginia’s state constitution currently defines marriage as a union between one man and one woman. But same-sex marriage is still legal in the state because a U.S. Supreme Court ruling legalized it nationwide in 2015.
Some same-sex marriage advocates, however, are concerned the Supreme Court could reconsider that ruling.
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Virginia Beach charter
Youngkin amended a bill that would enshrine Virginia Beach’s recent transition to a City Council with solely single-member districts into the city’s charter. He included a reenactment clause to allow for a reassessment of the legislation following the potential resolution of an ongoing lawsuit.
The city’s voting system was overhauled as a result of a lawsuit filed in 2017 that alleged the at-large system that allowed residents from across the city to vote in every council district was illegal. A federal judge agreed in 2021, finding the at-large voting system was unconstitutional because it diluted minority voting power.
Virginia Beach Democrats Del. Kelly Convirs-Fowler and Sen. Aaron Rouse carried the bill in their respective chambers. Rouse’s measure sailed through the Senate with unanimous support, but Convirs-Fowler faced opposition from House Republicans, who argued the bill should not progress because of an ongoing lawsuit.
Several Virginia Beach residents have filed a lawsuit contending the city “illegally manipulated the Virginia Beach electoral system by eliminating three at-large seats that are expressly established under the City Charter,” and deprived the rights of voters.
The House Democratic Caucus slammed the governor’s amendment.
“We should be doing everything we can to ensure that everyone has an equal voice in our election system, not preventing a locality from conducting the will of the people and making their electoral systems truly representative – especially when no other locality’s request was affected,” the caucus said.
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Fast-tracked timeline
The fast-tracked timeline for these bills drew questions from some Republicans.
“None of the 7 day bills take effect any earlier than they would otherwise,” Garren Shipley, spokesperson for the House Republican Caucus, wrote this week on social media. “It just rushes the Governor’s review. So, why do it? If the bills are so important, why rush the review?”
Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell said earlier this week that Democrats were eager to remove any mystery surrounding the governor.
Although both chambers are currently held by Democrats, the General Assembly had a split legislature for the first two years of the Youngkin’s term.
“For the last two years, he’s had a Republican-controlled House basically killing everything that we send over from the Senate,” Surovell said at a news conference. “I think in the next seven days, with the seven-day bills that we just sent him, Virginians are going to finally find out where he stands.”
Katie King, katie.king@virginiamedia.com
