Chesterfield’s 2026 ballot: questions and candidates

State constitutional amendment · Question 1

Reproductive freedom

Text on the ballot

Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended to (i) protect the freedom to make personal decisions about prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, birth control, abortion, miscarriage management, and fertility care; (ii) protect doctors, nurses, and patients from being punished for these decisions; and (iii) allow for restrictions on access to abortion during the third trimester of pregnancy except when the patient's health is at risk or the pregnancy cannot survive?

Plain-English translation

This would add a constitutional right to make decisions about reproductive care, including the care listed in the question. Government could not burden that right unless it met a demanding legal test. The amendment would still allow the state to regulate abortion in the third trimester, but not prohibit it when a physician determines it is medically needed to protect the pregnant patient’s life or physical or mental health, or when the fetus is not viable.

Yes means

Add the reproductive-care right to Virginia’s Constitution, protect patients and providers from punishment for exercising it, and bar adverse action based on a person’s pregnancy outcomes or voluntary help to another person. Third-trimester regulation remains permitted subject to the stated exceptions; the amendment does not itself create a ban.

No means

Do not add this constitutional right. A No vote does not itself ban abortion or change the law; it leaves reproductive-care decisions governed by existing law, without this proposed constitutional protection.

Official wording and explanation: Virginia Department of Elections, Question 1.

State constitutional amendment · Question 2

Marriage

Text on the ballot

Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended to (i) remove the ban on same-sex marriage; (ii) affirm that two adults may marry regardless of sex, gender, or race; and (iii) require all legally valid marriages to be treated equally under the law?

Plain-English translation

This would remove Virginia’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage and replace it with a state-constitutional right to marry for two adults. The state could not deny a marriage license because of the adults’ sex, gender, or race, and it would have to treat lawful marriages equally.

Yes means

Remove the ban from the state Constitution and add the stated marriage right and equal-treatment requirements.

No means

Leave the current constitutional ban in place. It is not enforceable under the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision, but Virginia’s official explanation says it could become enforceable again if the Court overturned that decision.

Official wording and explanation: Virginia Department of Elections, Question 2.

State constitutional amendment · Question 3

Voting rights

Text on the ballot

Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended (i) to provide for the fundamental right to vote in the Commonwealth, (ii) to revise the qualifications of voters so that a person convicted of a felony is not entitled to vote during his period of incarceration but is automatically invested with the right to vote upon release from incarceration, and (iii) to update the existing prohibition on voting by persons found to be mentally incompetent to instead apply to persons who have been found to lack the capacity to understand the act of voting?

Plain-English translation

This would establish a fundamental right to vote for people who meet Virginia’s voter qualifications. A person convicted of a felony could not vote while incarcerated for that conviction, but voting rights would return automatically upon release. A court could remove a person’s voting right only after specifically finding that the person lacks the capacity to understand the act of voting—not simply because the person has a disability or a broader incapacity finding.

Yes means

Adopt those changes. Felony-related voting rights would return automatically on release from incarceration; no individual restoration by the governor would be needed. A specific court finding about understanding voting would be required for the capacity-based restriction.

No means

Keep the current rules: a felony conviction removes voting rights unless the governor restores them, and a court finding of incapacity can remove voting rights under the existing broader standard.

Official wording and explanation: Virginia Department of Elections, Question 3.

Candidates · November 3, 2026

Who is on Chesterfield’s ballot—and what have they said?

The county’s official sample ballots show a U.S. Senate race for all voters, but the U.S. House race varies by address: some Chesterfield precincts are in the 1st District and others in the 4th. Some ballot styles also include a special School Board or Board of Supervisors race. Check the county’s ballot-style guide and your own sample ballot; not every voter sees every candidate listed below.

These are brief summaries of documented positions—not endorsements or a complete comparison of every policy. Campaign pages describe candidates’ own positions. Ukraine votes below are specific recorded votes, not a claim about every form of foreign assistance. “Not found” means I could not verify a public position in the sources reviewed; it does not establish what a candidate privately believes.

U.S. Senate · statewide

U.S. House · your district depends on your address

1st District

4th District

Local special elections · only on some ballot styles

Clover Hill District School Board

Dale District Board of Supervisors

Candidate names and which races appear by precinct: Chesterfield County’s official ballot-style guide and Style 1, Style 2, Style 3, Style 4, and Style 5.