Virginia voters are about to face one of the most consequential ballots in the state’s modern history. On November 3, 2026, three separate constitutional amendments will go directly to the people — covering reproductive rights, voting rights for people with felony convictions, and the repeal of Virginia’s long-dormant ban on same-sex marriage. Whatever voters decide, the outcome will be written into the state constitution, where it is far harder for future lawmakers to undo.
How Three Amendments Reached the Ballot
Amending Virginia’s constitution is deliberately difficult. A proposed amendment must pass the General Assembly in two separate sessions with a legislative election in between, and only then does it go to voters in a statewide referendum. All three of this year’s measures cleared that two-session hurdle before Governor Abigail Spanberger sent them on to the November ballot. A fourth proposal, dealing with congressional redistricting, is moving on a separate track and is slated to appear before voters earlier, in April.
Because each measure is a standalone question, voters can approve some and reject others. That means the three issues will rise or fall on their own merits rather than as a single package.
Amendment One: Reproductive Freedom
The first amendment would add a right to reproductive freedom to the Virginia Constitution. It defines that right as the ability to make and carry out one’s own decisions about all matters relating to pregnancy. Under the measure, the state could only limit that right to protect the health of the person seeking care, and only in a way consistent with accepted clinical standards and evidence-based medicine.
Supporters frame it as a way to lock reproductive protections into the constitution itself, beyond the reach of any single legislative majority. Opponents argue that placing such a broad right in the constitution removes flexibility from elected lawmakers and the public to revisit the issue down the road.
Amendment Two: Automatic Restoration of Voting Rights
The second amendment targets one of Virginia’s most distinctive policies. Virginia has long been an outlier: a felony conviction permanently strips a person’s right to vote unless the governor personally restores it, one case at a time. That system means the fate of a citizen’s voting rights can shift dramatically depending on who occupies the governor’s mansion.
The amendment would change that by automatically restoring the right to vote the moment a person is released from incarceration — no application, no petition, and no waiting on a governor’s signature. For tens of thousands of Virginians who have completed their prison terms, it would mean a clear and predictable path back to the ballot box.
Amendment Three: Repealing the Same-Sex Marriage Ban
The third amendment addresses language that has sat unenforceable in Virginia’s constitution for years. The state’s existing ban on same-sex marriage was rendered void by federal court rulings, but the words remain on the books. This measure would strike that ban entirely and replace it with a guarantee that Virginia recognize marriages without regard to sex, gender, or race.
Backers describe it as cleaning up outdated, unenforceable text and affirming protections that already exist in practice. Critics question whether the constitution is the right place to settle the question permanently rather than leaving it to courts and legislatures.
What This Means for Virginians
For everyday Virginians, the stakes are direct. The reproductive-freedom measure could shape access to care for years to come. The voting-rights measure could decide whether a neighbor who has served their sentence can cast a ballot in the next election. And the marriage measure could determine whether the state’s founding document continues to carry language a court has already struck down. Each is the kind of decision that usually plays out in courtrooms or legislative chambers — but this time, it lands squarely in the hands of voters.
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