I am opposed to any all bill that make it easier to cheat in elections like these bills being presented. I am opposed to any and all bills that make same sex marriage acceptable. I am opposed to any and all bills that allow full term abortion and allow minors to have abortions with out the parents knowledge. I am opposed to any and all bills that would allow minors to undergo transgender surgery . I am opposed to any and all bills that will raise taxes while the politicians are trying to give themselves a 150% increase no that is not acceptable.

I support HB1014. I am an attorney that practices in areas of law that have placed me in the courtroom for many guardianship / conservatorship cases. These cases where the question of “incapacity” is placed before the court show that there is no black and white, but instead a broad spectrum across which an individual may have a need for a guardianship / conservatorship to be placed. With that, there are many individuals who may lack the capacity to understand or otherwise assert their right to vote whereas I have observed many cases where the person is highly functioning, completely capable of the understanding necessary to assert and exercise their right to vote. This Bill properly places the nuance of this determination with the court where there are attorneys, a judge, a guardian ad litem (acting as the eyes and ears of the court), and the professional input of medical professionals convened to determine the unique needs of the individual. This constitutionally protected right deserves consideration of the unique needs and abilities of the individual prior to being swept away merely because there is some other need that might call for a guardianship / conservatorship determination. HB1014 appropriately centers the rights of otherwise qualified voters and should be adopted.

I believe that just because people have a Legal Guardian it doesn’t mean they can not vote. Many people with disabilities are legally competent to vote and can vote via absentee ballot if they can not go in person to vote.

HB1014 - I am writing as both a parent and guardian of a special needs child that recently turned 18. Surprisingly, my child, a US citizen, lost the right to vote based on outdated assumptions about disabilities and guardianship status. Please help our children keep their fundamental constitutional right (the right to vote) and not hold them to a "higher standard" than their peers by requiring "proof" that they are able to vote. A guardianship or conservatorship finding is not the same as being mentally incompetent to vote. Many Virginians with disabilities may need support in some areas of life but are fully capable of understanding the act of voting and that right should not be taken away from them without a specific court finding that they lack this capacity. Our children should be part of their community, which includes voting at 18 years old, and not be excluded! Thank you, Julie Cudworth

Please support HB1014. A 2020, JLARC study found that about twelve thousand adult Virginians have a guardian. https://jlarc.virginia.gov/landing-2021-virginias-adult-guardian-and-conservator-system.asp Some of these people do not have the mental capacity to understand voting, but many of them do. Many of them have political opinions they want to express, and want to vote as part of participating fully as Americans. Passage of HB1014 will address these unfairly disenfranchised citizens.

Regarding HB1014, please vote yes. Just because someone needs gaurdiansbip after the age of 18, does NOT mean they should lose the right to vote. A guardianship or conservatorship finding is not the same as being mentally incompetent to vote. Voting rights should not be removed without a specific, individualized court determination. Protect the fundamental constitutional right—the right to vote—by ensuring that people with disabilities are not disenfranchised based on outdated assumptions about disability or guardianship status. Many Virginians with disabilities may need support in some areas of life but are fully capable of understanding the act of voting and that right should not be taken away from them without a specific court finding that they lack the capacity to understand the act of voting.

Please Vote YES for HB1014 which ensures that no one is disenfranchised unless a court makes a specific finding, by clear and convincing evidence, that the person truly lacks the capacity to vote. A guardianship does not automatically mean someone lacks the capacity to vote. Many people with disabilities may need support in some areas of life but are fully capable of understanding the act of voting and independently determine who they want to vote for. Capacity is not all-or-nothing, and the ability to vote does not depend on the ability to manage other aspects of one’s life. Please VOTE YES for HB1014

At the House Privileges and Elections subcommittee meeting on January 28th, questions arose about HB 1014. I am a retired attorney. Since 1983, I have had over 2000 guardian/conservatorship cases, serving as a petitioning attorney for local departments of social services, community services boards, and other public agencies, representing parents or children petitioning for guardianship for a family member, serving as a guardian ad litem for alleged incapacitated persons, and occasionally serving as attorney for alleged incapacitated persons. Guardian/conservator hearings are brief and seldom contested. The hearings address whether or not the individual is incapacitated, and determine what specific measures should be taken to assist with that incapacity. Unfortunately, some lawyers and judges are in the habit of issuing plenary court orders that automatically revoke the respondent’s right to vote, without any consideration of the actual abilities of the specific individual involved. HB 1014 corrects this practice, ensuring that the court makes specific, individualized findings as to whether or not an incapacitated person under guardianship has the capacity to vote. This issue can and will be addressed in the initial guardianship hearing, even if the hearing remains brief and uncontested. Guardian/conservatorship is not permanent. It is designed to assist, not constrain, an incapacitated person. If an individual’s condition improves, or if the individual seeks a modification of the guardianship order and any limitations of any kind, including reversal of an incorrect revocation of their right to vote, the court will revisit this issue, as it would any other facet of alleged disability. This is not an additional burden on the court. It is the job of the court to afford full due process to the alleged incapacitated individual, and to revoke voting rights only in those cases where an individual truly lacks the competence to vote, as expressed in the Constitution of Virginia. HB 1014 sets out specific standards to ensure that incapacitated individuals in guardian/conservatorship proceedings receive the required due process to which they are legally entitled under current law. It improves the present practice in some courts, and clarifies and guarantees the existing rights of the disabled under current law. I respectfully request that the General Assemby pass this important bill.

This change risks allowing votes from people with severe cognitive impairments (e.g., advanced dementia), who may be vulnerable to influence, coercion, or exploitation by caregivers or others—effectively enabling forms of proxy voting or ballot harvesting without adequate safeguards. Strongly oppose.

The League of Women Voters of Virginia respectfully submits statements with respect to four of the bills before the Voting Rights Subcommittee of the House Privileges and Elections Committee. The bills are: HB 493 - Oppose HB 640 - Support HB 1014 - Support HB 1244 - Support The full statements are found in the attachment.