BEDFORD, VA – Liberty Counsel filed a lawsuit in the Circuit Court of Bedford County, Virginia against state election officials for failing to follow the state’s constitutional amendment process when approving a pro-abortion amendment for the 2026 ballot.
Liberty Counsel represents Plaintiff Charla Bansley, District 3 Supervisor for the Bedford County Board of Supervisors, who is challenging House Joint Resolution 1 (HJR1), which aims to establish a “fundamental right to reproductive freedom” in the Virginia Constitution. Bansley claims the ballot initiative is invalid after discovering Virginia’s House of Delegates missed several key procedural steps mandated by the Virginia Constitution before the amendment can go before the voters, such as distributing the amendment to all circuit court clerks statewide and posting it for public inspection three months prior to the 2025 House of Delegates election.
The lawsuit names Clerk of the Virginia House of Delegates G. Paul Nardo; Commissioner of Elections Steven Koski; the Virginia State Board of Elections; Virginia Department of Elections; Registrar of Elections Barbara Gunter; and Clerk for the Circuit Court of Bedford County Judy Reynolds. Bansley is asking the court to block election officials from printing 2026 ballots with HJR1 and to order its amendment process be restarted for the 2027-2028 legislative and election cycles.
According to the complaint, after the amendment’s initial approval in the 2025 General Assembly session, the Clerk of the House of Delegates never distributed the proposal to at least three circuit courts (Bedford County, Campbell County, and the City of Lynchburg) for public posting and inspection as legally required.
The Virginia Constitution also requires that proposed amendments be approved in two successive legislative sessions with delegate election cycles in between before going before voters. Because the required notice and posting did not occur in all the state’s circuit courts in the three months before the 2025 House of Delegates election, that cycle cannot satisfy the state constitutional notice obligation and waiting period, which means the 2026 General Assembly session approval of the amendment is “void” and “wholly ineffective,” states the lawsuit.
Since “approval of the proposed constitutional amendment occurred prior to full satisfaction of the constitutionally mandated requirements for the amendment process,” the amendment “cannot be submitted to the voters at this time,” reads the lawsuit.
Liberty Counsel’s Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, “Virginia’s House Joint Resolution 1 cannot legally appear on the ballot. This measure is invalid because the General Assembly advanced it to a second legislative vote without completing the constitutionally mandated notice and posting requirements that must occur after its first passage. The Constitution of Virginia requires strict, step‑by‑step compliance with the amendment process so that voters receive proper notice and can evaluate proposed changes to their governing charter before a consequential election. These procedures exist to protect the people’s right to transparent, orderly constitutional change, and any misstep undermines the integrity of the amendment process and can interfere with the will of the voters.”
About Liberty Counsel
Founded in 1989, Liberty Counsel is a 501(c)(3) non-profit litigation, education, and policy organization that advances religious freedom, the sanctity of human life, and the family.
Liberty Counsel is supported by tax-deductible donations and maintains offices in Central Florida, Virginia and Washington, D.C.
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