Introduction

Center for Election Confidence, Inc. (“CEC”) is a non-profit organization based in Arlington that promotes ethics, integrity, and professionalism in the electoral process. CEC works to ensure that all citizens can vote freely within an election system of reasonable procedures that promote election integrity, prevent vote dilution and disenfranchisement, and instill public confidence in election systems and outcomes. 

CEC submits these comments concerning 1 Va. Admin. Code 20-70 [hereinafter VAC] to the Virginia State Board of Elections in response to the periodic review of this regulation required by Va. Code Ann. §§ 2.2-4007 and           -4017.1, 1 VAC 20-10-120, and Executive Order 19 (2022).

CEC’s interest in this periodic review relates directly to its purpose of “advancing the role of ethics, integrity, and legal professionalism in the electoral process, including safeguarding the right of eligible voters to vote” by undertaking efforts that “increas[e] confidence in election results and election systems”.[1]

Material Omissions

1 VAC 20-70 contains a “material omissions” section, at sec. 20 (absentee ballots). However, the Virginia Administrative Code contains numerous “material omissions” sections with respect to the administration of elections, creating the possibility or likelihood that related sections may be interpreted differently or may develop differently, both on an inadvertent basis. See 1 VAC 20-45-20(B) (applications for voter registration on a Federal Post Card Application or Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot), 1 VAC 20-45-40 (Federal Write-In Absentee Ballots), 1 VAC 20-50-20 (candidate petitions and petition signature qualifications), 1 VAC 20-60-20 (referendum petitions and petition signature qualifications, 1 VAC 20-60-90 (officer removal petitions and petition signature qualifications). Further, the existence of parallel sections for related purposes creates confusion for the public and makes interpreting the requirements of 1 VAC 20-70 all the more difficult. CEC urges the State Board to consider consolidating these and all material omission sections to ensure uniformity, understandability, and transparency.

Notice Requirements for Pre-Processing Meetings

While 1 VAC 20-70-40(6) includes a requirement that “notice is given to the local political party chairs of the times and places for processing absentee ballots in sufficient time to allow for the authorized party representatives to be present”, it does not include a specific baseline timeliness requirement for notice. CEC recommends that the State Board update sec. -40(6) to include a minimum notice requirement of twenty-four (24) business hours before a pre-processing meeting is to occur in order to ensure uniformity among electoral board practices.

Enforce Envelope Requirements

The provisions of 1 VAC 20-70-70 unquestionably require an “outer absentee envelope” and a “return envelope”,[2] yet Fairfax County did not comply with these provisions in the 2024 general election, leading to ballot secrecy concerns reported widely in the news media,[3] a decision to the detriment of voters’ confidence in the administration of elections in the Commonwealth. ELECT and the State Board must enforce the provisions of the existing regulation, but they also should consider whether the language of the regulation should be updated to prohibit expressly the use of single-envelope absentee ballot return systems to prevent a recurrence of 2024’s issues.

Clarify General Prohibition on Ballot Collection

Given on-going uncertainty surrounding the permissibility of ballot collection (a/k/a “ballot harvesting”) pursuant to Va. Code Ann. § 24.2-707,[4] CEC urges the State Board to promulgate a regulation that interprets sec. -707 in accordance with the apparent intent of the General Assembly to prohibit such third-party ballot collection pursuant to its statutory responsibility to “ensure that major risks to election integrity are (i) identified and assessed and (ii) addressed as necessary to promote election uniformity, legality, and purity.” Va. Code Ann. § 24.2-103.[5]

CEC is interested in this reform because its mission is to “advance[e] the role of ethics, integrity, and legal professionalism in the electoral process, including safeguarding the right of eligible voters to vote” by undertaking efforts that “increas[e] confidence in election results and election systems”.[6] Ballot harvesting does not increase confidence in election results and election systems because it end-runs around important chain of custody requirements for absentee and other mail ballots by allowing a third party, with their own intentions, opinions, and morals, to intercept and carry—presumably to return—an individual’s ballot before it reaches election officials for processing. 

The purpose of this proposed regulation under Va. Code Ann. § 24.2-707 is to promote election integrity and voters’ confidence in the Commonwealth’s elections by prohibiting anyone except a close family member to return another person’s ballot, for whatever reason. To allow otherwise permits the sorts of chicanery and tomfoolery that create real election integrity issues and deflate voters’ confidence in election processes and outcomes, which is why the General Assembly revised sec. 707 with the intent to prohibit third-party ballot collection.

Such a rule would positively impact CEC because it would effect considered policy changes consistent with CEC’s mission, and the impact of such a rule on Virginia voters would be positive because the public could be assured absentee ballots move directly from a voter to election officials, with only the postal service, common carriers, or a close family member intervening.

Update Statutory References

To the extent that existing regulations contain outdated references to previous versions of the Virginia Code, CEC urges the State Board to update such regulations to provide for accurate and up-to-date citations and to review such references specifically for accuracy during each periodic review.

Complete Other Required Rulemakings

Various sections in Title 24.2 of Va. Code Ann. require the State Board to promulgate regulations, but the State Board has failed to do so. To the extent such regulations would be codified in Chapter 70, Agency 20, Title 1 of the Virginia Administrative Code, CEC urges the State Board to undertake such rulemakings.

Conclusion

The Center for Election Confidence urges the State Board to take the necessary steps to implement the proposals contained in this Comment for the benefit of Virginia voters’ confidence in the Commonwealth’s elections.

                                                                        Respectfully submitted this 31st day of December 2025,

                                                                        /s/ Caleb J. Hays

                                                                        Chief Policy Counsel

                                                                        Center for Election Confidence, Inc.