Richmond, Va. — Attorney General Jason Miyares issued an opinion today explaining that the constitutionally required process to amend the Constitution cannot be short-circuited by a last-minute vote of the General Assembly taken during an ongoing election.
To pursue a constitutional amendment, the General Assembly must twice approve a proposed amendment with an intervening election between those approvals. That intervening election ensures that the people of Virginia can hold their representatives accountable for how they vote on a proposed amendment.
“The Virginia Constitution is clear and it ensures that the voice of the people of Virginia is paramount when trying to change the terms of our governing document,” said Attorney General Jason Miyares. “This last ditch effort by politicians to hijack the redistricting process (and avoid accountability for doing so) is precisely why I supported the Nonpartisan Redistricting Commission as a delegate. Keeping politics out of the process was the right thing to do then, and I strongly believe that it is the right thing to do now, especially given that approximately a million Virginians have already voted without the advantage of even having read the proposed constitutional amendment.
“Allowing an amendment to be proposed and approved while a general election is underway undermines the voice of Virginia voters and violates foundational principles of Virginia constitutional law.”
Today’s opinion confirms that political actors in the General Assembly cannot sidestep that constitutional accountability by attempting to use an already ongoing election, in which approximately a million Virginians have already voted, as the required intervening election.
