Sal Orlando, News Editor
Deborah Aguilera, Contributing Writer
Maeve Bauer, Executive Editor
All three constitutional amendments were approved in Virginia in the 2026 election, all amassing over double digit percentage wins.
As of 12:30 am. on Nov. 4, 62% voted yes on question 1, 57.0% voted yes on question 2 and 56.1% voted yes, on question 3 according to NBC News.
Rights to reproductive care
The right to reproductive amendment passed, protecting Virginians access to prenatal and postpartum care, contraception, abortion, miscarriage management and infertility treatments, according to Ballotpedia.Abortion is currently legal in Virginia up until the third trimester, but the amendment will protect the right in the state’s constitution.
Jamie Lockhart, the executive director of Planned Parenthood Advocates for Virginia, said the organization would ensure that the right becomes a reality looking ahead.
“We know that getting there takes work,” Lockhart said. “We have to monitor implementation of the amendment, protect the amendment in court and educate Virginians on their rights,”
Lockhart said that they are already prepared to defend the amendment in court against opponents.
“They’ve [opponents] already said that immediately following this, knowing that they were going to lose, that they were going to challenge it immediately after,” Lockhart said.
Mat Staver, a Bedford County supervisor, threatened to challenge the process used to place question one on the ballot, according to NBC 10. He argued it did not follow guidelines that the proposed amendment’s language should have been accessible to the public at least 90 days before the 2025 House of Delegates election.
Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia partnered with Virginians for Reproductive Freedom, a coalition of doctors, nurses, and advocates, who advocated for the amendments, according to their website.
Hannah Servedio, organizing director for Virginians for Reproductive Freedom, said organizations like Planned Parenthood Advocates and Repro Rising Virginia will continue to be on the ground organizing and fighting for reproductive rights.
ACLU for Virginia has been involved with Question One since its inception, according to Mary Bauer, the executive director of ACLU for Virginia. She said she believes that the amendment overall is consistent with Virginian’s values.
“We deeply believe in the right of all people to have bodily autonomy and to be able to make decisions about their own bodies,” Bauer said.
Han Jones, the political director for Planned Parenthood Advocates for Virginia, emphasized the importance of having a focused goal with a campaign towards it.
“That multi-year programming can be really, really difficult to do, but as you can see in Virginia, it’s so rewarded,” Jones said.
Same-sex marriage ban overturned
The amendment that will remove the 2006 provision in the Virginia constitution that states marriage is between a man and a woman. It will guarantee the right to marry for adults regardless of their sex, gender or race, according to Ballotpedia
Same-sex marriage is protected on the national level by the United States Supreme Court’s landmark decision over the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges case, but if the court were to overturn their decision, Virginia will no longer be affected.
Immediate restoration of voting rights to people formerly convicted of a felony
Question three will restore the voting rights for any person formerly of a felony conviction upon reentry, according to Ballotpedia.
Question three will also disallow the prohibition of voting for people who have been put under court-approved guardianship.
Sheba Williams, founder and executive director of Nolef Turns said the amendment passing, to her, would mean completion of a goal of her advocacy.
Nolef Turns is a nonprofit organization with the mission of reducing recidivism by supporting and advocating with people in court and justice involvement, according to its website.
According to Williams, Virginia first instated felony disenfranchisement in 1830 and that in around 1870, following the Civil War, many formerly enslaved people were participating in democracy. In 1902, Carter Glass, delegate to the Virginia constitutional convention of 1901–1902, said it was his duty to put as many means of discrimination into the state constitution, including felony disenfranchisement.
“It will impact so many people in the state of Virginia and we will remove ourselves from having the stain of being an outlier in the nation for permanently taking away people’s rights, unless it goes through one politician,” Williams said.