Virginia

VIRGINIA'S TRADITION OF democratic elections extends back to the first election of its House of Burgesses in 1619. This election was the first held in any of the American colonies, and the subsequent election of this legislature during the colonial era, and of the bicameral general assembly after 1776, mark Virginia's state legislature as the oldest continuously elected representative legislature in the world.

The 1619 election also is noteworthy because it prompted contests involving several of its newly elected burgesses. The first case was resolved when the House of Burgesses agreed to admit a pair of delegates despite their want of lawful residency within Virginia; the legislature concluded a second case by excluding two other delegates because of their refusal to recognize the binding legal authority of the body's decisions. Given the expansion of electoral democracy in America over the next four centuries, the 1619 election in Virginia holds additional significance because it was marked by the precedent of a successful social protest against the attempted exclusion of some from participating. Prior to this particular election, several Polish craftsmen employed within the English colony of Virginia collectively pressed for voting privileges until it was determined that they, too, possessed the right to vote.

In addition to the regular election of the colonial House of Burgesses and of the Virginia House of Delegates and Senate, Virginia voters have regularly elected members of the U.S. House of Representatives and presidential electors since 1789; governors, lieutenant governors, and state attorneys general since 1851; the state Supreme Court 1852–69; and U.S. senators since 1916. Elections also have been held to select local delegates to nine state constitutional conventions between 1776 and 1956; the U.S. Constitution state ratifying convention in 1788; other statewide offices 1851–1928, as well as for ratification votes on several state constitutions and various state constitutional amendments.

Virginia's electoral tradition, moreover, includes numerous local elections. Initially, justices of the peace appointed in each county by the governor governed Virginia localities, but as early as the 1800s, the general assembly authorized towns such as Charlottesville to elect a small number of officials to enact local ordinances. Virginia's 1851 constitution established elected county magistrates throughout the state, along with elected local boards of supervisors and several other locally elected offices. Today, Virginia localities vote on local referenda issues and they regularly elect several offices, including legislative council members, Commonwealth attorneys, clerks of court, treasurers, school board members, and mayors. While Virginia's localities determine their own local electoral calendars, Virginia governors and the general assembly are elected in odd-numbered years. Congressional and presidential elections occur in even-numbered years, ensuring a robust contemporary political environment and a near-continuous cycle of campaigns, elections, and post- and preelection analysis.