Constantly in the process of becoming a more perfect Commonwealth, there are many ways that Virginia can still improve. Campaign finance laws in the state remain among the weakest in the whole country, and lobbying disclosure laws could be greatly improved in the name of transparency and accountability. Schools are overcrowded despite a rapidly growing population, and half of schools are in desperate need of modernization efforts to adequately educate students in the 21st century. 

But there is some good news, too! Despite these issues and others that need to be addressed, Virginia has made significant progress in the last half decade in becoming a more transparent, democratic state that gives every individual the opportunity to actively participate in government.

While elections are always a hot topic in the news, there is often a lack of attention on what happens when Virginia’s General Assembly is actually in session. This was by design — until recently, it was tremendously difficult to access information about the legislative body. Just years ago, most committee and subcommittee meetings were only accessible in-person, meaning it was necessary to be in Richmond to have direct knowledge of the General Assembly’s proceedings. 

Even worse, over half of bills killed during the 2017 General Assembly lacked a recorded vote, keeping Virginians in the dark about the decisions their representatives were making. 

But today, thanks in part to the efforts of VaOurWay — which was founded in 2017 by a group of concerned Virginians who sought more transparency in state government — and other similar groups, Virginia is home to far more informed discourse between citizens and legislators, increased public engagement, and practical transparency.

Now, nearly all committee and subcommittee meetings are not only recorded, but also live-streamed virtually so more Virginians, no matter where they reside, are able to access our representative democracy at work. Additionally, during the most recent legislative session, just 19% of bills died without a recorded vote, down from 54% in 2017. This is a significant improvement in just five years. 

Virginia is a stronger democracy because of this transparency, which helps to hold elected officials accountable. Increased voter protections in recent years have also strengthened democracy in the Commonwealth. Whereas many states have generated alarming headlines in the past year because of legislative efforts to roll back voter protections, Virginia was called “a voting rights bastion” by the New York Times in 2021. That’s because of a 2021 bill, signed into law by Governor Ralph Northam, that explicitly prohibits any discrimination on the basis of race, color or language, allows voters to challenge in court any change to the election process that might negatively impact minority communities, and requires election officials to provide ballots in languages other than English in localities with a sizable percentage of non-English speakers. 

There remains much work to be done in building a Virginia home to good governance, legislative transparency, and active civic participation. But thanks to the enormous progress made in the last five years, the Virginia that VaOurWay has been advocating for is closer than ever.