2026 SESSION

HOUSE SUBSTITUTE

26109757D

HOUSE BILL NO. 319

AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE

(Proposed by the Joint Conference Committee

on March 13, 2026)

(Patron Prior to Substitute—Hernandez)

A BILL to direct the Secretary of Administration to convene a work group on the implementation of back-end, opt-out automatic voter registration; report.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. § 1. The Secretary of Administration (the Secretary) shall convene a work group for the purpose of studying the implementation of back-end, opt-out automatic voter registration (AVR) in the Commonwealth. The work group shall consist of representatives from the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Virginia Information Technologies Agency, and the Office of the Attorney General, members of the House and Senate Committees on Privileges and Elections, general registrars and other local governmental officials, and representatives from organizations advocating for or working on voting rights and data privacy, in addition to any other persons deemed necessary by the Secretary.

The focus of the work group shall be the move from the Commonwealth's current front-end, opt-out AVR to back-end, opt-out AVR. The work group shall consider the effectiveness, efficiency, and security of back-end, opt-out AVR as compared to front-end, opt-out AVR and identify the costs and benefits of implementing back-end, opt-out AVR in the Commonwealth. The work group shall identify current obstacles to implementation, including the capacity of current technology infrastructure, and estimate potential upfront and ongoing costs of back-end, opt-out AVR.

The Secretary shall submit a report to the Chairs of the House and Senate Committees on Privileges and Elections with the work group's findings by November 1, 2026. Such report shall include recommendations for legislative action, if the work group is making any such recommendations.