On February 20, Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger signed HB 29, which moves the 2026 primary (but not future primaries) from June to August 4. Normally, Virginia requires non-presidential minor party and independent candidate petitions to be filed on primary day. But the bill says that in 2026, the statewide petition deadline will continue to be June 16. The only statewide office up this year is U.S. Senate.

This policy appears to be unconstitutional. The Fourth Circuit has said several times that petition deadlines can’t be earlier than primary date or the day before the primary. In Virginia the Fourth Circuit case was Wood v Meadows, 207 F 3d 708 (2000). In North Carolina, which is also in the Fourth Circuit, a similar decision is Buscemi v Bell, 964 F.3d 252.

The Virginia legislature moved the 2026 primary to August so as to give more time for a vote on a redistricting measure. However, the August primary date for 2026 is settled, regardless of whether that proposed ballot measures goes before the voters or not.

The bill moves the independent petition deadline for U.S. House to August 4.