| Elections in Virginia |
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The 2012 Virginia State Elections took place on Election Day, November 6, 2012, the same day as the Presidential, U.S. Senate and U.S. House elections in the state. The only statewide elections on the ballot were two constitutional referendums to amend the Virginia State Constitution. Because Virginia state elections are held on off-years, no statewide officers or state legislative elections were held. Both referendums were referred to the voters by the Virginia General Assembly. [1]
The amendment amended Section 11 of Article I of the state constitution to prohibit eminent domain from being used for private enterprise, job creation, tax revenue generation or economic development, thereby restricting it to only being invoked to take private land for public use. The measure was part of a political response to the United States Supreme Court's ruling in Kelo v. City of New London, which approved the use of eminent domain to seize private property for private uses that had public benefit. It was sponsored in Virginia House of Delegates by Del. Robert B. Bell. [2] After passing the General Assembly twice, in accordance with state law, [3] it was put before the voters. It was supported by controversial Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli and the Virginia Farm Bureau, and opposed by The Washington Post editorial board.
| Choice | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
 Yes | 2,661,547 | 74.45 |
| No | 913,201 | 25.54 |
| Total votes | 3,574,748 | 100.00 |
| Source: - Official Results | ||
The amendment amended Section 6 of Article IV of the state constitution to allow the General Assembly to vote to delay the start of its veto session by up to one week, with the intention of avoiding conflict with religious holidays such as Passover and Holy Week.
| Choice | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 2,877,171 | 81.91 |
| No | 635,319 | 18.08 |
| Total votes | 3,512,490 | 100.00 |
| Source: - Official Results | ||
Prior to the Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell v. Hodges (2015), U.S. state constitutional amendments banning same-sex unions of several different types passed, banning legal recognition of same-sex unions in U.S. state constitutions, referred to by proponents as "defense of marriage amendments" or "marriage protection amendments." These state amendments are different from the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment, which would ban same-sex marriage in every U.S. state, and Section 2 of the Defense of Marriage Act, more commonly known as DOMA, which allowed the states not to recognize same-sex marriages from other states. The amendments define marriage as a union between one man and one woman and prevent civil unions or same-sex marriages from being legalized, though some of the amendments bar only the latter. The Obergefell decision in June 2015 invalidated these state constitutional amendments insofar as they prevented same-sex couples from marrying, even though the actual text of these amendments remain written into the state constitutions.
The 2010 Virginia State Elections took place on Election Day, November 2, 2010, the same day as the U.S. House elections in the state. The only statewide elections on the ballot were three constitutional referendums to amend the Virginia State Constitution. Because Virginia state elections are held on off-years, no statewide officers or state legislative elections were held. All referendums were referred to the voters by the Virginia General Assembly.
The 2006 Virginia State Elections took place on Election Day, November 7, 2006, the same day as the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate elections in the state. The only statewide elections on the ballot were three constitutional referendums to amend the Virginia State Constitution. Because Virginia state elections are held on off-years, no statewide officers or state legislative elections were held. All referendums were referred to the voters by the Virginia General Assembly.
The 2004 Virginia State Elections took place on Election Day, November 2, 2004, the same day as the Presidential and the U.S. House elections in the state. The only statewide elections on the ballot were two constitutional referendums to amend the Virginia State Constitution. Because Virginia state elections are held on off-years, no statewide officers or state legislative elections were held. All referendums were referred to the voters by the Virginia General Assembly.
The 2002 Virginia State Elections took place on Election Day, November 5, 2002, the same day as the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House elections in the state. The only statewide elections on the ballot were two constitutional referendums to amend the Virginia State Constitution and two government bond referendums. Because Virginia state elections are held on off-years, no statewide officers or state legislative elections were held. All referendums were referred to the voters by the Virginia General Assembly.
The 2000 Virginia State Elections took place on Election Day, November 7, 2000, the same day as the U.S. Presidential, U.S. Senate and the U.S. House elections in the state. The only statewide elections on the ballot were two constitutional referendums to amend the Virginia State Constitution. Because Virginia state elections are held on off-years, no statewide officers or state legislative elections were held. All referendums were referred to the voters by the Virginia General Assembly.
The 1998 Virginia State Elections took place on Election Day, November 3, 1998, the same day as the U.S. House elections in the state. The only statewide elections on the ballot were five constitutional referendums to amend the Virginia State Constitution. Because Virginia state elections are held on off-years, no statewide officers or state legislative elections were held. All referendums were referred to the voters by the Virginia General Assembly.
The 1996 Virginia State Elections took place on Election Day, November 5, 1996, the same day as the presidential, U.S. Senate, and U.S. House elections in the state. The only statewide elections on the ballot were five constitutional referendums to amend the Virginia State Constitution. Because Virginia state elections are held on off-years, no statewide officers or state legislative elections were held. All referendums were referred to the voters by the Virginia General Assembly.
The 2014 Virginia State Elections took place on Election Day, November 4, 2014, the same day as the U.S. Senate and U.S. House elections in the state. The only statewide election on the ballot was one constitutional referendum to amend the Virginia State Constitution. Because Virginia state elections are held on off-years, no statewide officers or state legislative elections were held. The referendum was referred to the voters by the Virginia General Assembly. The amendment easily passed with 87% of the vote in favor.
The 2016 Virginia State Elections took place on Election Day, November 8, 2016, the same day as the U.S. Presidential and U.S. House elections in the state. The only statewide elections on the ballot were two constitutional referendums to amend the Virginia State Constitution. Because Virginia state elections are held on off-years, no statewide officers or state legislative elections were held. The referendum was referred to the voters by the Virginia General Assembly.
The 1992 Virginia State Elections took place on Election Day, November 3, 1992, the same day as the U.S. Presidential and the U.S. House elections in the state. The only statewide elections on the ballot were one constitutional referendum to amend the Virginia State Constitution and three government bond referendums. Because Virginia state elections are held on off-years, no statewide officers or state legislative elections were held. All referendums were referred to the voters by the Virginia General Assembly.
The 1990 Virginia State Elections took place on Election Day, November 5, 1990, the same day as the U.S. Senate and U.S. House elections in the state. The only statewide elections on the ballot were four constitutional referendums to amend the Virginia State Constitution. Because Virginia state elections are held on off-years, no statewide officers or state legislative elections were held. All referendums were referred to the voters by the Virginia General Assembly.
The 1986 Virginia State Elections took place on Election Day, November 5, 1986, the same day as the U.S. House elections in the state. The only statewide elections on the ballot were four constitutional referendums to amend the Virginia State Constitution. Because Virginia state elections are held on off-years, no statewide officers or state legislative elections were held. All referendums were referred to the voters by the Virginia General Assembly.
The 1982 Virginia State Elections took place on Election Day, November 2, 1982, the same day as the U.S. House elections in the state. The only statewide elections on the ballot were three constitutional referendums to amend the Virginia State Constitution. Because Virginia state elections are held on off-years, no statewide officers or state legislative elections were held. All referendums were referred to the voters by the Virginia General Assembly.
The 1980 Virginia State Elections took place on Election Day, November 4, 1980, the same day as the U.S. Presidential and U.S. House elections in the state. The only statewide elections on the ballot were four constitutional referendums to amend the Virginia State Constitution. Because Virginia state elections are held on off-years, no statewide officers or state legislative elections were held. All referendums were referred to the voters by the Virginia General Assembly.
The 1978 Virginia State Elections took place on Election Day, November 7, 1978, the same day as the U.S. House elections in the state. The only statewide elections on the ballot were one constitutional referendums to amend the Virginia State Constitution and one statutory referendum. Because Virginia state elections are held on off-years, no statewide officers or state legislative elections were held. All referendums were referred to the voters by the Virginia General Assembly.
The 1976 Virginia State Elections took place on Election Day, November 2, 1976, the same day as the U.S. Presidential, U.S. Senate, U.S. House elections in the state. The only statewide elections on the ballot were six constitutional referendums to amend the Virginia State Constitution. All referendums were referred to the voters by the Virginia General Assembly.
The 1970 Virginia State Elections took place on Election Day, November 3, 1970, the same day as the U.S. Senate and U.S. House elections in the state. The only statewide elections on the ballot were four constitutional referendums to amend the Virginia State Constitution. All referendums were referred to the voters by the Virginia General Assembly.
The Illinois Public Pension Amendment was a proposed amendment to the Illinois state constitution. On November 6, 2012, Illinois voters rejected it in a statewide referendum.