(HB1794)

GOVERNOR'S VETO

Pursuant to Article V, Section 6, of the Constitution of Virginia, I veto House Bill 1794, which moves all nonpresidential primaries in a presidential election year to the same date as the presidential primary in March.

By creating different filing deadlines for candidates depending on whether their election falls in a presidential or nonpresidential year, this bill increases the risk of missed deadlines, ballot access issues, and campaign finance compliance errors.

Candidates with general elections during presidential years would have to collect petitions, file ballot access documents, and file campaign finance reports on a schedule different from candidates with general elections during nonpresidential years.

This creates two classes of candidates and uniformity issues since the filing deadlines change based on when a candidate’s general election occurs.

Accordingly, I veto this bill.