Youngkin’s Executive Order codifies election security in Virginia

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin issued Executive Order 35, on Aug. 7, 2024 codifying election security procedures put into place during his administration. These include stringent ballot security, complete and thorough counting machine testing, and best-in-the-nation voter list maintenance.

“The Virginia model for Election Security works. This isn’t a Democrat or Republican issue, it’s an American and Virginian issue. Every legal vote deserves to be counted without being watered down by illegal votes or inaccurate machines. In Virginia, we don’t play games and our model for election security is working,” said Governor Youngkin.

“We use 100 per cent paper ballots with a strict chain of custody. We use counting machines, not voting machines, that are tested prior to every election and never connected to the internet. We do not mass mail ballots. We monitor our drop boxes 24/7. We verify the legal presence and identity of voters using DMV data and other trusted data sources to update our voter rolls daily, not only adding new voters,” but scrubbing the lists to remove those who should not be on it, such as the deceased, individuals who have moved, and non-citizens whohave accidentally or maliciously attempted to register, Youngkin said.

The EO codifies improvements to election security made during the Governor’s administration by directing the Commissioner of the Department of Elections to certify in writing annually that these improvements are in place. The EO also outlines the procedures in place for non-citizens who attempt to violate the law and register to vote, which includes referral to the local Commonwealth’s attorney and the Office of Attorney General, which has concurrent jurisdiction.