New to VPAP?
Use our guide below to find the information that matters to you on vpap.org.
The Virginia Public Access Project (VPAP) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that makes Virginia political information easy to find and understand.
VPAP was founded in 1997 to shine a light on campaign finance information. Virginia is one of five states with no limits on campaign finance contributions for state and local elections.
Today, Virginians have the best access in the nation to information about campaign finance – and more. VPAP’s resources cover all aspects of Virginia’s state and local politics and government.
Quick Start: Find Out Who Represents You, and More!
Find your current legislators, locate your polling place, and during election season, see your sample ballot. Enter your address below to find the election information that matters to you.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Campaign finance refers to funds raised for candidates, Political Action Committees (PACs), political parties, and other political entities and initiatives, as well as the spending of those funds.
Virginia is one of five states with no limits on campaign finance. Candidates and committees can receive any number of donations in any amount, which can be made by individuals, businesses, unions, PACs, advocacy groups and associations, and political parties.
During election season, when you see a yard sign, hear an ad, or receive a mailer or a text message from a candidate, those are campaign funds at work. Expenses like staff, travel and office supplies are also paid for by campaign funds.
Virginia law requires the reporting of political donors who contribute more than $100. Several times a year, candidates and committees file campaign finance reports that offer a public look at their funds raised and spent during the time period. VPAP aggregates these reports and uses them to make data visualizations analyzing campaign contributions, campaign spending, outside money, small donors, and more.
On vpap.org, you can search any Virginia candidate or committee and find an overview of their campaign finances on their VPAP page. Start with Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s page to see top donors, donors by occupation, and maps of donations from across Virginia and nationwide.
To start with your own legislators, find them here. Or, search any candidate’s name in the top-left corner of our homepage. You’ll see campaign finance links under the Overview on each profile.
You can search vpap.org for political donors, too. On the pages for Clean Virginia and Dominion Energy, two of the largest political donors in Virginia in recent years, you can explore donations by year, amount, and recipients.
Want to learn more about campaign finance in Virginia? Explore VPAP’s analysis of donors and find more on money in Virginia politics.
Check out:
To explore more data visualizations by topic, select a keyword from the Filter menu on the Data Visualizations page.
It is Virginia’s state legislature, which has two chambers: the Senate of Virginia and House of Delegates. Each Virginian is represented by one state Senator and one Delegate.
Looking for your legislators? Find them here.
Each January, the Virginia General Assembly convenes in Richmond for its annual session, which varies in length. In odd-numbered years, the session is 30 days, but is often extended to 46 days. In even-numbered years, the session is 60 days. During the session, they introduce and vote on bills, some of which become new legislation for Virginia.
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Members: There are 40 members in the State Senate and 100 members in the House of Delegates.
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Districts: Each Senator represents approximately 215,000 Virginians. Their districts are larger, often including several localities. Delegates represent smaller districts that include roughly 86,000 Virginians each.
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Term: Senators are elected to a four-year term. For Delegates, the term is two years. There is no limit to the number of terms General Assembly members can serve.
A bill is proposed legislation. Each session, around 2,000 bills are filed by legislators who hope the bills will become new laws.
A bill has a long path to get to that point. It must pass the subcommittee, full committee, and a floor vote in its original chamber. If it’s approved there, it moves to the other chamber to pass the same three steps. Bills that pass both chambers go to the Governor, who can approve the bill, suggest changes, or veto it. For a more detailed look, check out VPAP's data visualization that illustrates how a bill becomes a law.
Ready to dive in? Search for bills by topic, or see those recently filed here.
Committees are responsible for reviewing legislation that falls within their category. A bill must pass the committee’s vote to move forward. Legislators, lobbyists, advocates, and members of the public can attend committee meetings and speak about bills on the committee’s docket.
Each committee has subcommittees, which deal with more specific categories and have fewer committee members. For example, the House of Delegates’ Education Committee has three subcommittees: Early Childhood Education, K-12 Education, and Higher Education.
Lobbying is the lawful practice of influencing legislative or executive actions. VPAP tracks lobbyists who are paid more than $500 a year and are required to register annually with the state.
Lobbying, also called government relations or government affairs, can include conversations and building relationships with elected officials and their staff over meals or by hosting events. There are public-facing elements of lobbying, like coordinating media and public campaigns.
Registered lobbyists file annual disclosures that include compensation and spending on entertainment and events for elected and state officials. See these visuals for more information on lobbyist compensation and spending.
Companies across all industries, governments, trade associations, advocacy groups, and more can hire lobbyists to represent their interests or employ lobbyists in-house.
The public can contact their legislators, visit the General Assembly building, and attend or testify at committee meetings. Our Citizen's Guide covers all aspects of visiting thhe Capitol during the session.
The free VPAP General Assembly mobile app has maps of members' office locations, legisltor profiles, committee schedules, and more.
Download VPAP General Assembly on the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
Check out:
To explore more data visualizations by topic, select a keyword from the Filter menu on the Data Visualizations page.
Virginia voters go to the polls every year. Our state elections for Governor and General Assembly are held in odd-numbered years. In most other states, those elections are in even-numbered years, when federal offices, like President and Congress, are on the ballot.
Virginia is one of just two states (with New Jersey) that choose their governor the year after the presidential race, which brings national attention. Political donations from nearly every state flow into Virginia as outside groups and individuals seek to influence the result of the first elections during a new presidential administration or term.
Enter your address here to see what elections are on your ballot this year.
You can find district maps, candidates on the ballot, and campaign finance data related to each type of election:
- Federal Elections, like President and Congress
- State Elections, like Governor and General Assembly
- Local Elections, like School Board, City Council and Board of Supervisors
Explore past election results by voting method and drill down to see if your locality and precinct went red, blue, or somewhere in between. On Primary and Election Nights, tune into vpap.org for real-time results and analysis!
Use the VPAP Index to see the partisan lean of your U.S. House of Representatives, State Senate and House of Delegates districts – and how they compare to districts across Virginia. The VPAP Index charts districts on a scale of Strong Democratic to Strong Republican, with competitive districts in the middle.
Check out:
To explore more data visualizations by topic, select a keyword from the Filter menu on the Data Visualizations page.
This program integrates VPAP’s unique data into free, innovative civics education resources that empower Virginia educators and students.
Civics Navigator’s activities and guides help teach Virginia politics and government concepts with real-world examples, data literacy skills and creative approaches.
It’s designed for educators of all types: Public, private, homeschool, and higher education teachers, as well as parents and caregivers. Learners – from K-12 students to adults – can also explore on their own.
-
The Civics Navigator Resource Library has the latest tools and activities from VPAP. From interactive notebooks to videos and visualizations, these timely resources provide new ways to approach 27 civics topics.
You’ll see the grade level, topic, and format of each resource. You can also search by these filters to see the resources that interest you.
-
Civics Brief and Civics Currents are two email newsletters that provide free, bite-sized civics education resources regularly to your inbox. Scroll through past editions and subscribe here.
Civics Briefs include dynamic, skills-focused activities you can share with learners to enhance their understanding of Virginia government and politics.
Civics Currents is a more in-depth, topical digest for educators who want to teach about Virginia civics, delivered once or twice a month. It shares instructional guides to Virginia government and politics and is sent more frequently during peak political seasons, like elections and legislative sessions.
-
VaNews, our free news aggregation email, delivers the top headlines from across Virginia each morning.
-
Teachers can request custom professional learning opportunities specific to their school division needs.
Campaign finance refers to funds raised for candidates, Political Action Committees (PACs), political parties, and other political entities and initiatives, as well as the spending of those funds.
Virginia is one of five states with no limits on campaign finance. Candidates and committees can receive any number of donations in any amount, which can be made by individuals, businesses, unions, PACs, advocacy groups and associations, and political parties.
During election season, when you see a yard sign, hear an ad, or receive a mailer or a text message from a candidate, those are campaign funds at work. Expenses like staff, travel and office supplies are also paid for by campaign funds.
Virginia law requires the reporting of political donors who contribute more than $100. Several times a year, candidates and committees file campaign finance reports that offer a public look at their funds raised and spent during the time period. VPAP aggregates these reports and uses them to make data visualizations analyzing campaign contributions, campaign spending, outside money, small donors, and more.
On vpap.org, you can search any Virginia candidate or committee and find an overview of their campaign finances on their VPAP page. Start with Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s page to see top donors, donors by occupation, and maps of donations from across Virginia and nationwide.
To start with your own legislators, find them here. Or, search any candidate’s name in the top-left corner of our homepage. You’ll see campaign finance links under the Overview on each profile.
You can search vpap.org for political donors, too. On the pages for Clean Virginia and Dominion Energy, two of the largest political donors in Virginia in recent years, you can explore donations by year, amount, and recipients.
Want to learn more about campaign finance in Virginia? Explore VPAP’s analysis of donors and find more on money in Virginia politics.
Check out:
To explore more data visualizations by topic, select a keyword from the Filter menu on the Data Visualizations page.
It is Virginia’s state legislature, which has two chambers: the Senate of Virginia and House of Delegates. Each Virginian is represented by one state Senator and one Delegate.
Looking for your legislators? Find them here.
Each January, the Virginia General Assembly convenes in Richmond for its annual session, which varies in length. In odd-numbered years, the session is 30 days, but is often extended to 46 days. In even-numbered years, the session is 60 days. During the session, they introduce and vote on bills, some of which become new legislation for Virginia.
-
Members: There are 40 members in the State Senate and 100 members in the House of Delegates.
-
Districts: Each Senator represents approximately 215,000 Virginians. Their districts are larger, often including several localities. Delegates represent smaller districts that include roughly 86,000 Virginians each.
-
Term: Senators are elected to a four-year term. For Delegates, the term is two years. There is no limit to the number of terms General Assembly members can serve.
A bill is proposed legislation. Each session, around 2,000 bills are filed by legislators who hope the bills will become new laws.
A bill has a long path to get to that point. It must pass the subcommittee, full committee, and a floor vote in its original chamber. If it’s approved there, it moves to the other chamber to pass the same three steps. Bills that pass both chambers go to the Governor, who can approve the bill, suggest changes, or veto it. For a more detailed look, check out VPAP's data visualization that illustrates how a bill becomes a law.
Ready to dive in? Search for bills by topic, or see those recently filed here.
Committees are responsible for reviewing legislation that falls within their category. A bill must pass the committee’s vote to move forward. Legislators, lobbyists, advocates, and members of the public can attend committee meetings and speak about bills on the committee’s docket.
Each committee has subcommittees, which deal with more specific categories and have fewer committee members. For example, the House of Delegates’ Education Committee has three subcommittees: Early Childhood Education, K-12 Education, and Higher Education.
Lobbying is the lawful practice of influencing legislative or executive actions. VPAP tracks lobbyists who are paid more than $500 a year and are required to register annually with the state.
Lobbying, also called government relations or government affairs, can include conversations and building relationships with elected officials and their staff over meals or by hosting events. There are public-facing elements of lobbying, like coordinating media and public campaigns.
Registered lobbyists file annual disclosures that include compensation and spending on entertainment and events for elected and state officials. See these visuals for more information on lobbyist compensation and spending.
Companies across all industries, governments, trade associations, advocacy groups, and more can hire lobbyists to represent their interests or employ lobbyists in-house.
The public can contact their legislators, visit the General Assembly building, and attend or testify at committee meetings. Our Citizen's Guide covers all aspects of visiting thhe Capitol during the session.
The free VPAP General Assembly mobile app has maps of members' office locations, legisltor profiles, committee schedules, and more.
Download VPAP General Assembly on the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
Check out:
To explore more data visualizations by topic, select a keyword from the Filter menu on the Data Visualizations page.
Virginia voters go to the polls every year. Our state elections for Governor and General Assembly are held in odd-numbered years. In most other states, those elections are in even-numbered years, when federal offices, like President and Congress, are on the ballot.
Virginia is one of just two states (with New Jersey) that choose their governor the year after the presidential race, which brings national attention. Political donations from nearly every state flow into Virginia as outside groups and individuals seek to influence the result of the first elections during a new presidential administration or term.
Enter your address here to see what elections are on your ballot this year.
You can find district maps, candidates on the ballot, and campaign finance data related to each type of election:
- Federal Elections, like President and Congress
- State Elections, like Governor and General Assembly
- Local Elections, like School Board, City Council and Board of Supervisors
Explore past election results by voting method and drill down to see if your locality and precinct went red, blue, or somewhere in between. On Primary and Election Nights, tune into vpap.org for real-time results and analysis!
Use the VPAP Index to see the partisan lean of your U.S. House of Representatives, State Senate and House of Delegates districts – and how they compare to districts across Virginia. The VPAP Index charts districts on a scale of Strong Democratic to Strong Republican, with competitive districts in the middle.
Check out:
To explore more data visualizations by topic, select a keyword from the Filter menu on the Data Visualizations page.
This program integrates VPAP’s unique data into free, innovative civics education resources that empower Virginia educators and students.
Civics Navigator’s activities and guides help teach Virginia politics and government concepts with real-world examples, data literacy skills and creative approaches.
It’s designed for educators of all types: Public, private, homeschool, and higher education teachers, as well as parents and caregivers. Learners – from K-12 students to adults – can also explore on their own.
-
The Civics Navigator Resource Library has the latest tools and activities from VPAP. From interactive notebooks to videos and visualizations, these timely resources provide new ways to approach 27 civics topics.
You’ll see the grade level, topic, and format of each resource. You can also search by these filters to see the resources that interest you.
-
Civics Brief and Civics Currents are two email newsletters that provide free, bite-sized civics education resources regularly to your inbox. Scroll through past editions and subscribe here.
Civics Briefs include dynamic, skills-focused activities you can share with learners to enhance their understanding of Virginia government and politics.
Civics Currents is a more in-depth, topical digest for educators who want to teach about Virginia civics, delivered once or twice a month. It shares instructional guides to Virginia government and politics and is sent more frequently during peak political seasons, like elections and legislative sessions.
-
VaNews, our free news aggregation email, delivers the top headlines from across Virginia each morning.
-
Teachers can request custom professional learning opportunities specific to their school division needs.
Support Our Nonprofit
VPAP relies entirely on the generosity of our donors to keep political information free and accessible. Support our mission by contributing to our Annual Fund or directing your gift to VaNews, our daily news-clipping service, or Civics Navigator, our resource for educators and students.