Virginia Property Tax Exemption for Veterans and Surviving Spouses Amendment (2024)

Virginia Property Tax Exemption for Veterans and Surviving Spouses Amendment
Election date November 5, 2024
Topic Taxes
Status a Approved
Type Constitutional amendment	Origin State legislature

The Virginia Property Tax Exemption for Veterans and Surviving Spouses Amendment was on the ballot in Virginia as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 5, 2024. The ballot measure was approved.

A "yes" vote supported amending language in the Virginia Constitution regarding property tax exemptions for veterans and surviving spouses to say died in the line of duty rather than killed in action.

A "no" vote opposed amending language in the Virginia Constitution regarding property tax exemptions for veterans and surviving spouses to say died in the line of duty, and would keep the phrase killed in action.

Election results

Virginia Property Tax Exemption for Veterans and Surviving Spouses Amendment
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		4,035,483	93.03%
No		302,203	6.97%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Overview

What did this amendment do?

See also: Text of measure

This amendment revised language in the Virginia Constitution regarding property tax exemptions for veterans and surviving spouses, changing the wording from "killed in action" to "died in the line of duty." The line of duty determination now comes from the U.S. Department of Defense.

What were the existing property tax exemption benefits for surviving spouses?

In Virginia, surviving spouses of members of armed forces who were killed in action could apply for a property tax exemption. The determination must have been made by the Department of Defense. The exemption was provided to the principal residence of the surviving spouse. The exemption would not have applied to surviving spouses who remarry. Virginia voters approved the amendment providing for tax exemptions for surviving spouses in 2014.

How did this amendment get on the ballot?

See also: Path to the ballot

In Virginia, in order for the state legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot, the amendment must pass both chambers of the state legislature in two consecutive sessions.

The amendment was prefiled to the Virginia State Senate on December 12, 2022 as Senate Joint Resolution 231 (SJR 231). On February 3, 2023, the Senate unanimously passed SJR 231 by 38-0, and on February 23, 2023, the Virginia House of Representatives unanimously passed the measure by 95-0. The amendment was prefiled to the second legislative session on November 20, 2023 as Senate Joint Resolution 3 (SJR 3). On February 5, 2024, the Senate voted unanimously to pass the amendment by 40-0. On February 21, 2024, the House voted unanimously to pass the amendment by 99-0.

Text of measure

Ballot title

The official ballot title was as follows:

“

Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended so that the tax exemption that is currently available to the surviving spouses of soldiers killed in action is also available to the surviving spouses of soldiers who died in the line of duty?

”

Constitutional changes

See also: Virginia Constitution

The ballot measure amended Article X, Section 6-A of the Virginia Constitution. The following underlined text was added and struck-through text was deleted:

Note: Hover over the text and scroll to see the full text.

Text of Section 6-A:

Property tax exemption for; certain veterans and their surviving spouses and; surviving spouses of soldiers killed in action who died in the line of duty.

(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 6, the General Assembly by general law, and within the restrictions and conditions prescribed therein, shall exempt from taxation the real property, including the joint real property of husband and wife, of any veteran who has been determined by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs or its successor agency pursuant to federal law to have a one hundred percent service-connected, permanent, and total disability, and who occupies the real property as his or her principal place of residence. The General Assembly shall also provide this exemption from taxation for real property owned by the surviving spouse of a veteran who was eligible for the exemption provided in this section, so long as the surviving spouse does not remarry. This exemption applies to the surviving spouse's principal place of residence without any restriction on the spouse's moving to a different principal place of residence.

b) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 6, the General Assembly by general law, and within the restrictions and conditions prescribed therein, may exempt from taxation the real property of the surviving spouse of any member of the armed forces of the United States who was killed in action as determined by died in the line of duty with a Line of Duty determination from the United States Department of Defense, who occupies the real property as his or her principal place of residence. The exemption under this subdivision shall cease if the surviving spouse remarries and shall not be claimed thereafter. This exemption applies regardless of whether the spouse was killed in action determined to have died in the line of duty prior to the effective date of this subdivision, but the exemption shall not be applicable for any period of time prior to the effective date. This exemption applies to the surviving spouse’s principal place of residence without any restriction on the spouse’s moving to a different principal place of residence and without any requirement that the spouse reside in the Commonwealth at the time of death of the member of the armed forces.

Readability score

See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2024

Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL) and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title for this measure. Readability scores are designed to indicate the reading difficulty of text. The Flesch-Kincaid formulas account for the number of words, syllables, and sentences in a text; they do not account for the difficulty of the ideas in the text. The state legislature wrote the ballot language for this measure.

The FKGL for the ballot title is grade level 21, and the FRE is 17. The word count for the ballot title is 41.

Support

Ballotpedia did not locate a campaign in support of the ballot measure.

Opposition

Ballotpedia did not locate a campaign in opposition to the ballot measure.

Campaign finance

See also: Campaign finance requirements for Virginia ballot measures

	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions	Cash Expenditures	Total Expenditures
Support	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Oppose	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Total	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00

Background

Virginia Property Tax Exemption for Surviving Spouses of Armed Forces Amendment (2014)

See also: Virginia Property Tax Exemption for Surviving Spouses of Armed Forces Amendment (2014)

Virginia voters approved a constitutional amendment that provided tax exemptions for surviving spouses of members of the armed forces on November 4, 2014 with 87.31% of voters approving the amendment and 12.69% of voters rejecting the amendment. The amendment was designed to exempt real property from taxation for any surviving spouse of a member of the United States armed forces who was killed in action, as determined by the Department of Defense. The exemption would not apply to surviving spouses who remarry. The tax exemption only applied to the surviving spouse's primary place of residence.

Property tax ballot measures, 2024

Ten ballot measures concerning property taxes were certified to appear on the 2024 ballot in eight states.

State	Year	Ballot Measure	Type	Status
Wyoming	2024	Wyoming Property Tax on Residential Property and Owner-Occupied Primary Residences Amendment	Legislatively referred constitutional amendment	Approved
New Mexico	2024	New Mexico Constitutional Amendment 1	Legislatively referred constitutional amendment	Approved
New Mexico	2024	New Mexico Constitutional Amendment 2	Legislatively referred constitutional amendment	Approved
Colorado	2024	Colorado Amendment G	Legislatively referred constitutional amendment	Approved
Virginia	2024	Virginia Property Tax Exemption for Veterans and Surviving Spouses Amendment	Legislatively referred constitutional amendment	Approved
Arizona	2024	Arizona Proposition 312	Legislatively referred state statute	Approved
Florida	2024	Florida Amendment 5	Legislatively referred constitutional amendment	Approved
Georgia	2024	Georgia Referendum A	Legislatively referred state statute	Approved
Georgia	2024	Georgia Amendment 1	Legislatively referred constitutional amendment	Approved
Louisiana	2024	Louisiana Amendment 4	Legislatively referred constitutional amendment	Approved

Path to the ballot

Amending the Virginia Constitution

See also: Amending the Virginia Constitution

In Virginia, a constitutional amendment needs to be passed by a simple majority vote in both chambers of the state legislature over two consecutive legislative sessions to be certified for the ballot.

Amendment in the state Legislature

The amendment passed the Virginia Senate on February 3, 2023, by 38-0. It passed the Virginia House on February 23, 2023, by 95-0.

Vote in the Virginia State Senate February 3, 2023
Requirement: Simple majority vote of all members in each chamber in two sessions
Number of yes votes required: 20  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	38	0	2
Total percent	95%	0%	5%
Democrat	21	0	1
Republican	17	0	1

Vote in the Virginia House of Delegates February 23, 2023
Requirement: Simple majority vote of all members in each chamber in two sessions
Number of yes votes required: 51  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	95	0	5
Total percent	95%	0%	5%
Democrat	44	0	4
Republican	51	0	1

On November 20, 2023, the amendment was prefiled as Senate Joint Resolution 3 to the State Senate for the 2024 legislative session. On February 5, 2024, the Senate voted 40-0 to pass the amendment. On February 21, 2024, the House voted 99-0 to pass the amendment. Another amendment, House Joint Resolution 45, was prefiled on January 9, 2024, and passed the House by 99-0 on February 7, 2024.

Vote in the Virginia State Senate February 5, 2024
Requirement: Simple majority vote of all members in each chamber in two sessions
Number of yes votes required: 20  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	40	0	0
Total percent	100%	0%	0%
Democrat	21	0	0
Republican	19	0	0

Vote in the Virginia House of Delegates February 23, 2023
Requirement: Simple majority vote of all members in each chamber in two sessions
Number of yes votes required: 51  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	99	0	1
Total percent	99%	0%	1%
Democrat	50	0	1
Republican	49	0	0

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in Virginia

See below to learn more about current voter registration rules, identification requirements, and poll times in Virginia.

How to vote in Virginia

Poll times

In Virginia, all polls open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern Time. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote.

Registration

Check your voter registration status here.

To vote in Virginia, one must be a United States citizen, a resident of Virginia, and at least 18 years of age.

Registration can be completed online, in person at a local voter registration office, or by mail. Voters can also register at the following locations:

“	State or local government offices when applying or re-certifying for Aid to Dependent Children, Food Stamps, WIC, Medicaid, or Rehabilitation Services Government offices in the state that provide state-funded programs primarily engaged in providing services to persons with disabilities Armed forces recruitment offices Public libraries Virginia Department of Elections office Department of Motor Vehicles offices Voter registration drives	”
—Virginia Department of Elections

The deadline to register is the 11th day before a primary or general election, but a voter may register to voter after this deadline through the state's same-day registration system and vote a provisional ballot.

Automatic registration

On April 12, 2020, Governor Ralph Northam (D) signed SB219 into law, establishing automatic voter registration for individuals conducting business with the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Online registration

See also: Online voter registration

Virginia has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website.

Same-day registration

Virginia allows same-day voter registration in-person at local registrars' offices, satellite early voting sites during the early voting period, and at the precinct on Election Day.

Residency requirements

To register to vote in Virginia, you must be a resident of the state. State law does not specify a length of time for which you must have been a resident to be eligible.

Verification of citizenship

See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States

Virginia does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration. An individual must attest that they are a U.S. citizen when registering to vote. According to the state's voter registration application, a voter who makes a materially false statement may be "sentenced to up to 10 years in prison, or up to 12 months in jail and/or fined up to $2,500."

All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment. Seven states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, and Wyoming — have laws requiring verification of citizenship at the time of voter registration, whether in effect or not. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allows noncitizens to vote in some local elections. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters.

Verifying your registration

This page, run by the Virginia Department of elections, allows residents to check their voter registration status online.

Voter ID requirements

According to the Department of Elections website, "All voters casting a ballot in-person will be asked to show one form of identification. Any voter who does not present acceptable identification may instead sign a statement, subject to felony penalties, that they are the named registered voter who they claim to be. Any voter who does not present acceptable identification or sign this statement must vote a provisional ballot."

The following documents were considered acceptable identification for voting as of May 2023:

• Virginia driver's license or DMV-issued ID card
• Valid employee ID, containing a photo, issued by the voter's employer in ordinary course of business
• U.S. military ID
• Valid student ID, containing a photo, issued by any public or private school college, or university
• Valid student ID issued by a public or private school high school, college, or university in Virginia (with or without a photo)
• Valid U.S. passport or passport card
• ID card issued by the federal government or a Virginia state or local authority.
• Voter ID card issued by the department of elections
• Voter confirmation documents
• Valid tribal enrollment or ID issued by one of the 11 tribes recognized in Virginia
• Government nursing home resident ID
• Any other current government document containing the name and address of the voter
• Signed ID Confirmation Statement

See also

2024 measures

• 2024 ballot measures
• Taxes on the ballot

Virginia

• Virginia ballot measures
• Virginia ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls

External links

• SJR231