Elections chief says Virginia is ready for midterms, potential federal interference

Good morning from The Mercury.

By Markus Schmidt

Virginia’s top elections official says voters can have confidence in both the integrity of the Nov. 3 midterms and the results, even if President Donald Trump or his allies challenge Republican losses or attempt to interfere with the election process. 

“I think Virginia voters should be very confident in the level of preparation and experience that their local election officials have in administering elections,” Steve Koski, the state’s new elections commissioner, said in a lengthy interview with The Mercury. 

By Nathaniel Cline

Virginia is increasingly using statewide postsecondary planning resources to sustain and increase higher education enrollment and expand workforce opportunities, a new report found. 

In 2022, lawmakers directed the Virginia Department of Education and the State Council of Higher Education to conduct annual studies on how the commonwealth maintains and updates statewide postsecondary planning resources for students, families, educators and school divisions.

By Charlotte Rene Woods

Every three years, Virginia updates its building code, requirements for new construction that account for safety standards and energy efficiency. 

As the state readies for its next update cycle in 2027, some lawmakers are flagging a series of reforms they argue can help increase housing supply and address affordability issues. 

 A 2021 state study found that Virginia had a housing shortage of at least 200,000 units. Virginians most affected by lack of affordable housing are renters, have low incomes and often work in essential occupations, the study also found. 

By Ariana Figueroa

The U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday denied the Trump administration’s emergency request to implement a rule that would terminate gender-affirming care for transgender people incarcerated in federal prisons. 

It means a lower court order that blocked the policy from going into effect will remain in place for now, and gender-affirming healthcare for transgender inmates will continue. 

“This is a critical ruling for our clients and all transgender people in Bureau of Prisons custody,” Li Nowlin-Sohl, senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Project, said in a statement. “The denial of medically necessary health care, including gender-affirming health care, to people in prison is a violation of their fundamental constitutional rights.”  

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