National civil rights organization Advancement Project and the NAACP Virginia State Conference filed a lawsuit against the Virginia Department of Elections on October 31 for unlawfully disenfranchising college and university students, including those attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Recent reports indicate that several jurisdictions in Virginia are currently rejecting voter registration applications from students residing on campus because they did not include dormitory names or room numbers, despite otherwise providing valid campus addresses.
The impact reaches across colleges and universities across Virginia, from George Mason University, James Madison University, Old Dominion University, University of Richmond, and Virginia Commonwealth University to historically Black colleges and universities, including Norfolk State University and Virginia State University. The NAACP Virginia State Conference has college chapters on all of the impacted campuses.
Advocates warn that the failure to provide timely and accurate guidance ahead of the November 2025 election could likely result in widespread disenfranchisement, rejected provisional ballots, and long lines at polling places as officials attempt to resolve discrepancies at check-in…
The lawsuit can be found here.