Advancement Project and NAACP Sue Virginia Department of Elections for Unlawful Voter Disenfranchisement of Students at HBCUs and Universities
November 3, 2025
Richmond, VA — 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.
“Young people, including young voters of color, have a huge stake in the future of this country. Thousands of young voters on Virginia college campuses want to make their voices heard in this year’s elections, but too many are at risk of being disenfranchised by the Virginia policies that are restricting students’ access to the ballot. We must remove the barriers that infringe on their right to vote. Ensuring equal access to the ballot box for Virginia’s students is not only a matter of fairness, it is required by federal law and the U.S. Constitution,” said John Powers, Legal Director at Advancement Project.
College students who aren’t registered yet can still vote on Election Day using same-day registration. When college students go to vote, they should provide all of the information requested by election officials, including, where necessary, their dorm name and dorm room number to ensure their registrations aren’t rejected before the court rules on the case.
Background:
The Civil Rights Act of 1964, specifically 52 U.S.C. § 10101(a)(2)(B) (the “Materiality Provision”), prohibits denying the right to vote because of an error or omission on paperwork that is not material to determining a voter’s eligibility. Courts across the country, including the Fourth, Third, and Ninth Circuits, have affirmed this principle.
Under Virginia law, to be eligible to vote, a person must be a U.S. citizen, at least 18 years old by Election Day, and a resident of the precinct in which they vote. Nothing in Virginia statute requires a dormitory name or room number to establish residency.
In 2019, a federal court addressed this very issue when George Mason University students were wrongly denied voter registration for omitting dormitory information. In that case, New Virginia Majority Education Fund v. Fairfax County Board of Elections, U.S. District Court Judge Rossie D. Alston, Jr. approved a consent order ensuring that affected students’ ballots would be counted and that they would be placed on the permanent voter rolls once residency was verified.
The lawsuit can be found here.
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Advancement Project is a next-generation, multi-racial civil rights organization. Rooted in the great human rights struggles for equality and justice, we exist to fulfill America’s promise of a caring, inclusive and just democracy. We use innovative tools and strategies to strengthen social movements and achieve high impact policy change. We are a co-convener of the National Campaign for Police Free schools, a formation of 20+ youth-led grassroots organizations fighting to end the criminalization of youth in the classroom, create liberatory educational spaces, and implement an affirmative vision of safety and transformative justice. Visit www.advancementproject.org to learn more.
