The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Virginia is the document that defines and limits the powers of the

state government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, or ...

and the basic rights of the citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Like all other state constitutions, it is supreme over Virginia's laws and acts of government, though it may be superseded by the

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven ar ...

and U.S. federal law as per the Supremacy Clause. The original Virginia Constitution of 1776 was enacted at the time of the Declaration of Independence by the first

thirteen states The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the Thirteen British Colonies, the Thirteen American Colonies, or later as the United Colonies, were a group of British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. Founded in the 17th and 18th cent ...

of the United States of America. Virginia was an early state to adopt its own Constitution on June 29, 1776, and the document was widely influential both in the United States and abroad. In addition to frequent amendments, there have been six major subsequent revisions of the constitution (by Conventions for the constitutions of 1830, 1851, 1864, 1870, 1902, and by commission for 1971 amendments). These new constitutions have been part of, and in reaction to, periods of major regional or social upheaval in Virginia. For instance, the 1902 constitution included provisions to disenfranchise African Americans, who in 1900 made up nearly 36% of the state's population. They did not regain suffrage until after the enactment of federal civil rights legislation in the mid-1960s.

Historic constitutions

1776

The preparation of the first Virginia Constitution began in early 1776, in the midst of the early events of the American Revolution. Among those who drafted the 1776 Constitution were George Mason and James Madison. Thomas Jefferson was Virginia's representative to the

Second Continental Congress The Second Continental Congress was a late-18th-century meeting of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that united in support of the American Revolutionary War. The Congress was creating a new country it first named "United Colonies" and in 1 ...

in Philadelphia at the time, and his drafts of the Virginia constitution arrived too late to be incorporated into the final document. James Madison's work on the Virginia Constitution helped him develop the ideas and skills that he would later use as one of the main architects of the

. The 1776 Constitution declared the dissolution of the rule of Great Britain over Virginia and accused England's King George III of establishing a "detestable and insupportable tyranny". It also established separation of governmental powers, with the creation of the

bicameral Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single grou ...

Virginia General Assembly as the legislative body of the state and the Governor of Virginia as the "chief magistrate" or executive. The accompanying Virginia Declaration of Rights, written primarily by Mason, focuses on guarantees of basic human rights and freedoms and the fundamental purpose of government. It, in turn, served as a model for a number of other historic documents, including the United States Bill of Rights. Critically, the 1776 Constitution limited the right to vote primarily to property owners and men of wealth. This effectively concentrated power in the hands of the landowners and aristocracy of Southeastern Virginia. Dissatisfaction with this power structure would come to dominate Virginia's constitutional debate for almost a century. 1830constitution01

1830

By the 1820s, Virginia was one of only two states that limited voting to landowners. In addition, because representation was by county rather than population, the residents of increasingly populous Western Virginia (the area that would become West Virginia in 1863) had grown discontented at their limited representation in the legislature. Pressure increased until a

constitutional convention Constitutional convention may refer to: * Constitutional convention (political custom), an informal and uncodified procedural agreement *Constitutional convention (political meeting), a meeting of delegates to adopt a new constitution or revise an e ...

was convened in 1829–1830. This convention became largely a contest between eastern Virginia planters of the slaveholding elite and the less affluent yeomen farmers of Western Virginia. Issues of representation and

suffrage Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in representative democracy, public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally i ...

dominated the debate. Delegates to the convention included such prominent Virginians as James Madison, James Monroe, John Tyler, and

John Marshall John Marshall (September 24, 1755July 6, 1835) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the fourth Chief Justice of the United States from 1801 until his death in 1835. He remains the longest-serving chief justice and fourth-longes ...

. Western leaders included Philip Doddridge and Alexander Campbell. The convention ultimately compromised by loosening suffrage requirements. It also reduced the number of delegates and senators to the Virginia General Assembly. The resulting constitution was ratified by a popular majority, though most of the voters in the western part of the state ended up voting against it. Thus, the underlying intrastate tensions remained, and would have to be addressed later.

1851

As of the 1840 census, the majority of the white residents of the state lived in western Virginia, but they were underrepresented in the legislature because of the continued property requirement for voting; not all held sufficient property to vote. This compounded their dissatisfaction with the apportionment scheme adopted in 1830, which was based on counties rather than population, thus giving disproportionate power to the fewer, but propertied whites who lived in the eastern part of the state and kept a grip on the legislature. As the state legislature also elected the governor and the United States senators, Western Virginians felt they had little influence on state leadership. Their attempts to win electoral reform in the Virginia legislature were defeated each time. Some began to openly discuss the

abolition Abolition refers to the act of putting an end to something by law, and may refer to: * Abolitionism, abolition of slavery * Abolition of the death penalty, also called capital punishment * Abolition of monarchy *Abolition of nuclear weapons *Abol ...

of slavery or secession from the state. Ultimately, the eastern planters could not continue to ignore their discontent, and a new constitutional convention was called to resolve the continuing tensions. The most significant change adopted in the 1851 Constitution was elimination of the property requirement for voting, resulting in extension of the suffrage to all white males of voting age. The 1851 Constitution established popular election for the governor, the newly created office of

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

, and all Virginia judges, rather than the election of the top two state officers by the legislature, or political appointment for judges. Because of these changes, the 1851 Virginia Constitution became known as the "Reform Constitution". Francis Pierpont portrait

1864

When in 1861, the Virginia legislature voted for secession in the events leading up to the American Civil War, all of the western and several of the northern counties dissented. They set up a separate government with

Francis H. Pierpont Francis Harrison Pierpont (January 25, 1814March 24, 1899), called the "Father of West Virginia," was an American lawyer and politician who achieved prominence during the American Civil War. During the conflict's first two years, Pierpont served ...

as governor. During the Civil War, this separate or "restored" government approved the creation of West Virginia as a separate state (which was admitted to the Union in 1863) and in 1864 it approved a new Constitution.Salmon (1994), pp.45–47. The constitution was the product of a divided state and government; it was the first since the original 1776 Constitution to be adopted by the legislature without a popular vote. The 1864 Constitution abolished slavery in Virginia, disenfranchised men who had served in the Confederate government, recognized the creation of the State of West Virginia, and adjusted the number and terms of office of the members of the Virginia Assembly. The

foreword A foreword is a (usually short) piece of writing, sometimes placed at the beginning of a book or other piece of literature. Typically written by someone other than the primary author of the work, it often tells of some interaction between the ...

to the current Virginia Constitution does not include the 1864 Constitution in its list of previous constitutions. It notes that the 1864 Constitution was drafted under wartime conditions and was of uncertain legal status. John Curtiss Underwood

1870

After the end of the Civil War, Virginia came briefly under military rule during Reconstruction, with the district commanded by

John M. Schofield John McAllister Schofield (September 29, 1831 – March 4, 1906) was an American soldier who held major commands during the American Civil War. He was appointed U.S. Secretary of War (1868–1869) under President Andrew Johnson and later served a ...

. Pursuant to federal Reconstruction legislation, Schofield called for a new constitutional convention to meet in Richmond from December 1867 to April 1868. In protest of freedmen's suffrage, many of Virginia's conservative whites refused to participate in voting for delegates. As a result, Republicans led by Judge John Curtiss Underwood dominated the convention. Opponents called the result the "Underwood Constitution" or the "Negro Constitution", as it gave freedmen suffrage. Significant provisions included expanding the suffrage to all male citizens over the age of 21, which included freedmen; establishing a state public school system for the first time, with mandatory funding and attendance; and providing for judges to be elected by the General Assembly rather than by popular vote. Controversy over clauses that continued the temporary disenfranchisement of former Confederate government members delayed the adoption of the Constitution. An eventual compromise provided for separate voting disenfranchisement clauses and the rest of the Constitution; the former failed to win approval. The remainder of the Underwood Constitution was ratified by a popular vote of 210,585 to 9,136, and went into effect in 1870.

1902

In the late nineteenth century, white Democrats regained power in state legislatures across the South. They passed

Jim Crow The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Other areas of the United States were affected by formal and informal policies of segregation as well, but many states outside the Sout ...

laws establishing racial segregation in public facilities and restricting the lives of blacks. Beginning with Mississippi in 1890, legislatures began to ratify new constitutions, amendments or electoral laws that disenfranchised African-American voters, devising means such as poll taxes,

literacy test A literacy test assesses a person's literacy skills: their ability to read and write have been administered by various governments, particularly to immigrants. In the United States, between the 1850s and 1960s, literacy tests were administered t ...

s and residential requirements that passed Supreme Court review but worked against poor blacks and many poor whites. By the turn of the 20th century, six

Southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

states had essentially eliminated the black vote, and pressure mounted among whites in Virginia to do the same, ostensibly as a way to stop electoral fraud and corruption. The 1901 constitutional convention met in this climate. Members were focused on restricting black voting rights without violating the

Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution The Fifteenth Amendment (Amendment XV) to the United States Constitution prohibits the federal government and each state from denying or abridging a citizen's right to vote "on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." It was ...

or disenfranchising poor whites. Led by the future

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Carter Glass, the convention created requirements that all prospective voters had to pay poll taxes or pass a literacy test administered by white registrars. An exemption was granted, in a kind of grandfather clause, for military veterans and sons of veterans, who were virtually all white. The changes effectively disenfranchised black voters, though many illiterate whites were also unable to meet the new requirements. In 1900 blacks made up nearly 36 percent of the population.Historical Census Browser, 1900 Federal Census, University of Virginia
, accessed March 15, 2008 In succeeding elections, the Virginia electorate was reduced by nearly half as a result of the changes. When adjusted for the Nineteenth Amendment, voter turnout would not return to 1900 levels until 1952 within a statewide population almost twice the size. The small electorate was key to maintaining the dominant Democratic Organization in power for sixty years. Other significant provisions of the 1902 Constitution imposed racial segregation in public schools (which already existed on a '' de facto'' basis) and abolished the county court system. The Constitution provided for the creation of the

State Corporation Commission The State Corporation Commission, or SCC, is a Virginia (USA) regulatory agency whose authority encompasses utilities, insurance, state-chartered financial institutions, securities, retail franchising, and railroads. It is the state's central filin ...

to regulate the growing power of the railroads. Because of concern over African-American opposition, the convention did not honor its pledge to have the proposed constitution put to popular vote. Like the 1864 Constitution by the Loyalist government during the Civil War, the legislature adopted the 1902 Constitution without ratification by the electorate. It was in effect far longer than any previous Virginia constitution.

Current constitution (1971)

As a result of the Civil Rights Movement's challenging the restrictions and discrimination practiced against blacks' exercise of constitutional rights, a series of US Supreme Court cases, beginning with '' Brown v. Board of Education'' in 1954, the 24th Amendment, and federal legislation: the

Civil Rights Act of 1964 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and United States labor law, labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on Race (human categorization), race, Person of color, color, religion, sex, and nationa ...

and the

Voting Rights Act of 1965 The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the height of the civil rights movement ...

had overturned the most controversial aspects of the 1902 Constitution – the provisions restricting voting by African Americans and mandating school segregation. Combined with the election of Governor Mills Godwin in 1965, there was impetus for governmental change. Godwin strongly advocated the loosening of the strict constitutional restrictions on state-issued bonds and borrowing, and used his power and popularity to push for a new constitution. In 1968 a joint resolution of the Virginia General Assembly approved a new commission, chaired by former Governor

Albertis Harrison Albertis Sydney Harrison Jr. (January 11, 1907 – January 23, 1995) was an American politician and jurist. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party associated with Virginia's Byrd Organization, he was the List of Governo ...

, to revise the constitution. The Commission on Constitutional Revision presented its report and recommendations to Governor Godwin and the General Assembly in January 1969, and continued to work with them to draft a final consensus version. The proposed Constitution was overwhelmingly approved by the voters of Virginia (who by then included African-American men and women, following passage of federal civil rights legislation in the mid-1960s) and took effect on July 1, 1971. Since 1971, additional amendments have been passed by the General Assembly and approved by the voters to conform to provisions in the U.S. Constitution, rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court and Congressional statute. The voting age has been reduced to eighteen, voting residency requirements have been removed, and voter registration conforms to the Motor Voter Act. Additionally, the Virginia Constitution now provides for a General Assembly session following a governor's veto, and the right of the people to hunt, fish and harvest game is guaranteed. In 2006, Virginians passed an amendment limiting marriage to "unions between one man and one woman". That has since been overturned by '' Obergefell v. Hodges'' (2015), which legalized same-sex marriage throughout the United States. The current Constitution of Virginia consists of twelve Articles:

Article I – Bill of Rights

Article I contains the entire original Virginia Declaration of Rights from the 1776 Constitution. Several of the sections have been expanded to incorporate concepts from the United States Bill of Rights, including the right to

due process Due process of law is application by state of all legal rules and principles pertaining to the case so all legal rights that are owed to the person are respected. Due process balances the power of law of the land and protects the individual pers ...

, the prohibition against double jeopardy, and the right to bear arms. Like the Federal Constitution, the Virginia Bill of Rights, in §17, states that the listing of certain rights is not to be construed to exclude other rights held by the people. In 1997, a Victims' Rights Amendment was added to the Virginia Bill of Rights as §8-A. In ''Nobrega v. Commonwealth,'' the only case so far to interpret this amendment, the Virginia Supreme Court used the Victims's Rights Amendment to support its ruling that an alleged rape victim could not be compelled to submit to a psychiatric evaluation. On November 7, 2006, Virginia voters ratified an amendment, previously approved by the General Assembly, prohibiting same-sex marriage, to be added to the Bill of Rights. This amendment also prohibits the recognition of any "union, partnership, or other legal status" between unmarried people that intends to approximate marriage or which confers the "rights, benefits, obligations, qualities, or effects of marriage." The Virginia Attorney General issued an opinion stating that the amendment does not change the legal status of documents such as contracts, wills, or

Advanced Medical Directive An advance healthcare directive, also known as living will, personal directive, advance directive, medical directive or advance decision, is a legal document in which a person specifies what actions should be taken for their health if they are no ...

s between unmarried people. The amendment was declared to be in violation the United States Constitution by a U.S. District Court Judge on February 13, 2014. (In 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in '' Obergefell v. Hodges'' that the failure to provide for same-sex marriage by any U.S. state had the effect of violating the rights of homosexuals to equal protection of law required under the

Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution The Fourteenth Amendment (Amendment XIV) to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, as one of the Reconstruction Amendments. Often considered as one of the most consequential amendments, it addresses citizenship rights and ...

Article II – Franchise and Officers

The second Article of the Constitution sets out the procedures and mechanisms for voting, elections and holding office. Pursuant to Section 1, any Virginia resident over age 18 may vote in state elections; the voting age was reduced from 21 by a 1972 amendment to the federal constitution. However, § 1 denies the vote to people who have been determined to be mentally incompetent or anyone convicted of a felony. Disfranchising convicted felons has been found to be consistent with the

Equal Protection Clause The Equal Protection Clause is part of the first section of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The clause, which took effect in 1868, provides "''nor shall any State ... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal ...

of the U.S. Constitution. The General Assembly, pursuant to §4, is given wide power to regulate the time, place, and manner of all elections. §5 establishes that the only qualifications to hold office in Virginia are that a person must have been a Virginia resident for at least one year and eligible to vote. Any statute or rule requiring other qualifications is constitutionally invalid under this section. But, the General Assembly can impose local residency requirements for election to local governmental bodies or for election to the Assembly in representation of particular districts.

Article III – Division of Powers

Article III has one section, confirming the principle of separation of powers between the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government. Unlike the U.S. federal Constitution, the Virginia Constitution explicitly provides that no branch may exercise powers that properly belong to the others. Separation between the branches of government is also listed as a right of the people in §5 of Article I.

Article IV – Legislature

Article IV establishes the basic structure and authority of the Virginia legislature. The legislative power of the state is vested in the Virginia General Assembly, which consists of the Virginia Senate and the Virginia House of Delegates. §17 of Article IV gives the legislature the power to impeach members of the executive and judicial branches. The original §14 of Article IV forbade the incorporation of churches, though the Virginia Commission on Constitutional Revision, in its 1969 report, had recognized that the prohibition was probably invalid. The federal district court for the Western District of Virginia ruled in April 2002 that this provision of the Virginia Constitution was in fact unconstitutional, because it violates the federal constitutional right to the free exercise of religion. The court found that it is unconstitutional to deny a church the option to incorporate under state law when other groups can incorporate. An amendment striking the ban on church incorporation was approved by Virginia voters in November 2006.

Article V – Executive

The fifth Article similarly defines the structure and powers of the executive branch. The Governor of Virginia is invested as the chief executive, though §1 of Article V, provides that the governor may not run for successive terms. The offices of

and

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

are established as supporting elected constitutional positions. The constitutional powers of the governor include the ability to sign legislation, veto bills (which veto may then be overridden by a two-thirds majority of both houses of the assembly), and issue pardons.

Article VI – Judiciary

Article VI vests judicial power in the

Supreme Court of Virginia The Supreme Court of Virginia is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It primarily hears direct appeals in civil cases from the trial-level city and county circuit courts, as well as the criminal law, family law and administrative ...

, along with the subordinate courts created by the General Assembly. Judges are appointed by a majority vote in the General Assembly to terms of 12 years for Supreme Court Justices and 8 years for other judges. The Supreme Court, pursuant to §5, has the authority to make rules governing the practice of law and procedures in the courts of the commonwealth (se
rules
, and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is established as the administrative head of the Virginia judicial system.

Article VII – Local Government

Article VII of the Constitution sets up the basic framework for the structure and function of local government in Virginia. Local government may be established at the town (population over 1000),

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

(population over 5000), county or

regional government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...

level. Article VII gives the General Assembly the power to create general laws for the organization and governing of these political subdivisions, except that regional governments cannot be created without the consent of the majority of the voters who vote on the issue in the region. Section 4 establishes the constitutional offices of treasurer,

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

, Commonwealth's Attorney, clerk of court and

Commissioner of the Revenue The Commissioner of the Revenue is one of five locally elected constitutional officers whose authority is specifically conveyed in the Virginia Constitution. The other four are the treasurer, sheriff, Commonwealth's attorney, and clerk. In gen ...

to be elected within each city and county in Virginia.

Article VIII – Education

A compulsory and free

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works * ...

and

secondary Secondary may refer to: Science and nature * Secondary emission, of particles ** Secondary electrons, electrons generated as ionization products * The secondary winding, or the electrical or electronic circuit connected to the secondary winding i ...

public education for every Virginia child is the focus of Article VIII. The General Assembly is empowered to determine the funding for the educational system and apportion the cost between state and local government. A state

Board of Education A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional are ...

is established to create school divisions and effectuate the overall educational policies. Supervision of the individual schools is delegated to local school boards, provided for in §7.

Article IX – Corporations

The primary purpose of Article IX is to create the Virginia

, which is charged with administering the laws that regulate

corporations A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and r ...

. The State Corporation Commission also issues charters for Virginia corporations and licenses to do business for "foreign" (non-Virginia) corporations. Section 5 of Article IX prohibits such foreign corporations from doing anything in Virginia that a Virginia corporation could not do.

Article X – Taxation and Finance

Article X establishes the basic structure for taxation of

personal property property is property that is movable. In common law systems, personal property may also be called chattels or personalty. In civil law systems, personal property is often called movable property or movables—any property that can be moved fr ...

in Virginia. Pursuant to this Article, all non-exempt real and personal property is subject to taxation at its fair market value. Section 6 sets out a lengthy list of exempt property, which includes church property, cemeteries, and non-profit school property. Significant additions to Article X include §7, a budget amendment, which became effective in 1986, and §7-A, which establishes the "Lottery Proceeds Fund", requiring that all proceeds from the

lottery A lottery is a form of gambling that involves the drawing of numbers at random for a prize. Some governments outlaw lotteries, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find some degree of ...

be set aside for educational purposes.

Article XI – Conservation

Article XI states that it is the general policy of the Commonwealth to preserve, protect and conserve the state's natural and historic resources. The General Assembly is permitted to further these policies by entering into public-private partnerships or partnerships with federal agencies. A 2001 amendment added §4, which establishes

hunting Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

and fishing as constitutional rights of Virginians, though the legislature may enact appropriate regulations and restrictions on these rights.

Article XII – Future changes

The last Article creates the mechanism for future changes to the Constitution. Any amendment to the Constitution must first be passed by a majority in each of the two legislative houses. The proposed amendment must then be held over for consideration by the succeeding elected legislature, where it must again be passed by a majority in each house. The amendment then goes on the general ballot and becomes enacted into the Constitution if approved by a majority of the voters. Alternatively, a two-thirds vote of both Virginia houses may call for the creation of a

. Any revisions or amendments proposed by the constitutional convention are presented to the citizens of Virginia and become law upon approval by a majority of voters. There is a perennial discussion over Virginia's unique Constitutional status restricting its governor to one consecutive term, and its method of selecting both trial and appellate judges by state legislature, shared only with South Carolina.Dinan (2006). p. 24

References

;Notes ;Bibliography *

External links

Constitution of Virginia (current version, adopted 1971)

Text of the 1776 Constitution

{{good article Virginia Virginia law 1971 in law Legal history of Virginia African-American segregation in the United States 1776 establishments in Virginia