News Releases

ICYMI: Attorney General Jones Shares Message Ahead of Election Day 

RICHMOND, Va. – Attorney General Jay Jones addressed election security and protection in the Richmond Times-Dispatch. The guest column addresses failed federal efforts to disenfranchise voters and the responsibility of the Attorney General and his office to defend every Virginian’s right to vote.  

Richmond Times-Dispatch: Virginia will defend its voters and elections 

As America marks 250 years of independence, Virginia has a special responsibility to the republic we helped create. In 1619, elected citizens gathered at Jamestown in the first representative assembly in the New World. Virginians later helped write the Declaration of Independence and shape the Constitution. Generations fought to extend those founding promises to people long denied them. We honor that inheritance by protecting the sacred right to vote today. 

Article I, Section 4 of the United States Constitution is explicit: “The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof.” 

Alexander Hamilton may have represented New York, but he shared Virginian James Madison’s conviction that states should take the lead in administering elections. In his essay, Federalist No. 59, Hamilton wrote that our founding document gives “regulation of elections for the federal government, in the first instance, to the local administrations.” That constitutional arrangement gave no president an independent power to rewrite election law. And that has not changed. 

As Virginia’s attorney general, my duty to defend that constitutional role and the Virginians who rely on it is ironclad. Virginia runs its own elections and runs them well. The Office of Attorney General will fiercely protect the commonwealth against an aggressive federal government or anyone else who attempts to interfere, and I will not back down. We stand ready with state and local officials to protect Virginia’s electoral system. 

Our confidence in our elections is earned by those who put in the work. The commonwealth has thousands of bipartisan election administrators who, applying detailed rules and procedures, ensure that eligible voters can cast ballots and that vote counts are accurate. Local registrars, electoral boards and poll workers carry out their duties with care. The result is a record of successful elections going back years, reflecting the patient, exacting work of public servants who understand the enormous responsibility placed upon them. 

This year, the Trump administration has repeatedly sought to disrupt our election officials’ preparations. When President Trump attempted to use the United States Postal Service to restrict mail voting for the upcoming general election, Virginia joined other states in court. It successfully secured a consequential victory at the Supreme Court. And while the legal fight over mail voting will continue after this election, our victory ensured that the president’s illegal order did not disrupt the crucial work of election administrators across the commonwealth. Critically, not a single Virginian was disenfranchised. Trump’s signature does not place an order above the law. 

Our responsibility also extends to private, personal information that people entrust to the government when they register to vote. A federal judge dismissed the Justice Department’s demand for Virginia’s unredacted statewide voter list; the administration has appealed. We also supported Washington state against a similar demand. This month, I demanded that the Department of Homeland Security answer questions about reported unauthorized access to protected Virginia voter information and to preserve relevant records. Exercising a fundamental right should never require surrendering legal protections for your personal information. 

The Trump pressure campaign has reached emergency preparedness funding, too. Virginia joined a lawsuit challenging federal conditions tying homeland security grants to new election requirements. Those grants support preparedness and counterterrorism programs administered through Virginia’s Department of Emergency Management. The safety of our communities should never be used as a bargaining chip in an effort to control our elections. 

The current assault on our free elections is why preparation starts long before Election Day. Attorneys in my office are studying the threats and preparing to respond alongside state and local officials. They know the law and will be ready to act. Working with the Department of Elections, we will use every legal tool available to protect the sanctity of Virginia’s elections. 

Our obligation extends to every eligible voter, including those who disagree with me or align with a different political party. Every ballot deserves the same protection, regardless of who the vote is cast for. I will readily fulfill my duty as attorney general to defend your right to vote, however you may choose. 

Trump can keep testing the limits of his power. Virginia will keep holding him to the Constitution. Anyone else contemplating interference should expect the same resolve. Two hundred fifty years after independence, self-government and democratic principles still depend on people being free to choose their leaders. In Virginia, we intend to keep those choices free. 

Published on: October 6, 2026