(The Center Square) – Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed Executive Order 53 to add new election security requirements in Virginia.
The order directs the Virginia Department of Elections to coordinate with federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, to ensure data is securely shared and ineligible voters are removed from the rolls in line with state and federal law.
It also mandates expanded use of DHS’s SAVE database, a federal system used to verify citizenship status, to identify non-citizens, adoption of new federal voting system guidelines and participation in federal technology testing programs.
Youngkin said the measures are designed to keep Virginia’s election system among the most secure in the nation.
“Free and fair elections are the bedrock of our democracy,” he said in a statement. “That’s why it is so important that we do everything we can to make our elections as secure as possible, ensuring that our lists are accurate and our systems are reliable.”
He added that Virginia already uses paper ballots and machines that are not connected to the internet, along with procedures to remove ineligible voters.
The new order follows a series of earlier actions by Youngkin to tighten election procedures.
Last year, Youngkin signed Executive Order 31, which set up multi-agency data sharing to keep voter lists accurate. It required agencies like the DMV, State Police, and Health Department to share information with the Department of Elections and expanded cooperation with other states to flag duplicate registrations and remove deceased voters.
Executive Order 35, issued in 2024, added new rules for ballot security and voter list maintenance. It put daily chain-of-custody checks in place for ballots and required counting machines to be tested before every election and kept offline.
The order also called for results to be reviewed three times, expanded data-sharing with other states, and required more address-change mailings. According to state records, the changes led to nearly 80,000 deceased voters being removed from Virginia’s rolls in 2023.
Executive Order 53 builds on those steps by adding federal partners and updated machine guidelines.
The order requires the Virginia Fusion Center and Department of Emergency Management to conduct a statewide election preparedness exercise before early voting starts Sept. 19. Agencies such as the Virginia State Police, National Guard, DMV and local registrars are expected to take part.
Each machine must pass multiple accuracy tests before being used at polling places. The order reinforces these procedures and calls for stronger oversight of how local election offices maintain voter lists.
For voters, the changes mean tighter checks on voter registration, more audits of machines and ballots, and greater coordination among state and federal agencies.
