Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia Department of Elections
State-level agency overview
Formed2014
Preceding State-level agency
  • Virginia State Board of Elections
JurisdictionCommonwealth of Virginia
HeadquartersRichmond, Virginia
Employees51-200
State-level agency executives
Websitehttps://www.elections.virginia.gov/

The Virginia Department of Elections (ELECT)is an agency that administers elections in Virginia. Its duties include maintaining a voter registration system, ensuring fair and secure elections, overseeing campaign finance disclosure, and certificating voter equipment in coordination with Virginia's 113 local election offices.[1][2]

History

The predecessor to ELECT, the Virginia State Board of Elections (SBE), was founded in 1946 as a nonpolitical agency to ensure fairness and accuracy in the commonwealth's elections. The SBE promoted proper administration of election laws and voter registration.[3]

In 2014, this process was further expanded with the creation of ELECT. ELECT is responsible for the SBE's administrative and programmatic operations and discharges the board's duties consistent with delegated authority.[3]

Leadership

The department is led by a five-member body, the State Board of Elections. A commissioner is in charge of supervising the board. The Department's current commissioner is Susan Beals. ELECT is made up of three business units that work with a regulatory board.[2][4][5]

Role

State law provides that, "The State Board, through the Department of Elections, shall supervise and coordinate the work of the county and city electoral boards and of the registrars to obtain uniformity in their practices and proceedings and legality and purity in all elections."[6]

References

  1. ^ "§ 24.2-404. Duties of Department of Elections". Code of Virginia.
  2. ^ a b "Department of Elections". Virginia.gov. Retrieved 2024-10-01.
  3. ^ a b "Home". www.elections.virginia.gov. Retrieved 2024-10-01.
  4. ^ "Commissioner". Virginia Department of Elections.
  5. ^ "Board Members". Virginia Department of Elections.
  6. ^ "§ 24.2-103. Powers and duties in general". Code of Virginia.


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