Lieutenant Governor of Virginia

Virginia State Executives

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The Lieutenant Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia is an elected Constitutional officer, the second ranking officer of the Executive branch, and the first officer in line to succeed the Governor of Virginia. The Lieutenant Governor is popularly elected every four years by a plurality and, unlike the Governor, may run for re-election.

Current officer

See also: Current Lieutenant Governors

The 39th and current lieutenant governor is Bill Bolling, a Republican elected in 2005 and 2009.

Authority

The state Constitution addresses the office of the lieutenant governor Article V, the Executive.

Under Article V, Section 13:

A Lieutenant Governor shall be elected at the same time and for the same term as the Governor, and his qualifications and the manner and ascertainment of his election, in all respects, shall be the same, except that there shall be no limit on the terms of the Lieutenant Governor.

Qualifications

In order to be eligible for the office of lieutenant governor, a candidate must be:

• a United States citizen
• a resident of Virginia for at least five years at the time of the election
• a qualified elector of Virginia for at least one year preceding the election
• at least 30 years old

Elections

See also: Gubernatorial election cycles by state

See also: Election of lieutenant governors

Virginia belongs to the handful of states that hold off-year elections, that is, elections in off-numbered years that are neither Presidential nor midterm years. In Virginia's case, elections are held in the year after a Presidential and before a midterm; thus, 2009, 2013, 2017, and 2021 are all lieutenant gubernatorial election years. Legally, the inauguration is always held the second Wednesday in the January after an election. Thus, January 8, 2014 and January 10, 2018 are inaugural days.

By law, lieutenant governors are elected in separate elections from governors in both the primary and general elections. This means it is possible to have a partisan split in the Executive office.

In the event of a tie between two candidates or a contested election, a joint session of the legislature shall cast ballots.

Vacancies

Details of vacancies are addressed under Article V, Section 7.

A vacancy in the Lieutenant Governor's office is filled by the Governor.

Duties

The lieutenant governor serves as the president of the Senate of Virginia and is first in the line of succession to the governor; in the event the governor dies, resigns, or otherwise leaves office, the lieutenant governor becomes governor.

He serves as the President of the Senate but only has a vote in cases of a tie. (§ 14)

Compensation

See also: Comparison of lieutenant gubernatorial salaries

The lieutenant governor's pay is set by law and may not be increased or diminished effective during the current term.

As of 2010, the lieutenant governor is paid $36,321 a year, the 40th highest lieutenant gubernatorial salary in America.

Contact information

Physical Address: 102 Governor Street Richmond, VA 23219

Mailing Address: PO Box 1195 Richmond, VA 23218

Phone:804-786-2078 Fax:804-786-7514 Email:ltgov@ltgov.virginia.gov

See also

• Virginia Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling
• Governor of Virginia
• Governor Bob McDonnell
• Virginia Attorney General
• Virginia Secretary of State

External links

Suggest a link

• Office of the Virginia Lieutenant Governor

References

• Wikipedia, Lieutenant Governor of Virginia

Portions of this article were adapted from Wikipedia.