The Richmond City and Chesterfield County Democratic Committees will hold an
unassembled caucus on Sunday, December 14, 2025, from 10am to 6pm at the
following locations:
● Richmond High School for the Arts - 4314 Crutchfield St. Richmond, VA 23235
● Providence Middle School - 900 Starlight Ln. Chesterfield, VA 23234
Any registered voter in Virginia House of Delegates District 77 who meets the
participation requirements outlined in the call to caucus will be eligible to vote at any of the caucus voting locations.
The following provisions shall govern the caucus:
I. Candidate Filing Requirements:
A. Candidate filing format. Each person seeking to become the Democratic Party Nominee for Virginia House of Delegates District 77 shall file with Nicholas Scott, Chair of Virginia House of Delegates District 77 Nominating Committee ([email protected]), or his designee:
- HD77 Candidate Declaration of Candidacy;
- a candidate filing fee of $2,500
Declaration of candidacy forms and petition of qualified voter forms are published on the DPVA, Richmond City Democratic Committee, and Chesterfield County Democratic Committee websites and by request from the Chair.
B. Mandatory fee. A filing fee of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) made payable to the Richmond City Democratic Committee with the candidate filing materials. The filing fee shall be paid by check.
C. Deadline and means of filing. Candidate Filings must be returned to the Chair or the Chair’s designated representative between Thursday, December 11, at 9 AM and Friday, December 12, at 9 AM. A candidate whose Filing contains errors or omissions may supplement or amend the filing any time before the deadline; however, the filing will not be considered properly filed until the Chair so certifies. Candidates may file through a designated agent, but such action in no way alters the responsibility of the candidate nor extends the deadline for receipt. The Chair or the Chair’s designated representative must personally receive the Filing for it to be valid. A candidate or candidate representative may contact the Chair at [email protected] to make arrangements to transmit their Filings. The Chair will take reasonable steps to ensure that candidates or their agents can easily locate and transmit their Filings to
the Chair or the Chair’s designated representative. The Chair or the Chair’s designated representative will confirm acceptance of a candidate Filing with a written receipt. Once a candidate Filing is reviewed and determined to be properly filed, the Chair will make reasonable attempts to notify the candidate by contacting the phone number and email listed on the candidate’s declaration of candidacy form.
D. Ballot order. Candidates will be listed on the ballot in the order that they properly filed -- with the first complete and properly filed candidate listed first on the ballot. In cases of simultaneous filing by multiple candidates, ballot order will be determined by a coin toss. This coin toss will take place at the time of the simultaneous filing.
E. Disqualification as a candidate. Only those candidates who have properly filed by 9AM on December 12, will be listed on the caucus ballot and be eligible for the Democratic nomination. In the event a candidate is declared ineligible, the caucus process will proceed without that candidate.
F. No contest. If only one person files properly to be a candidate for the Democratic nominee, the Chair may cancel the caucus and declare the properly filed candidate the Democratic Party nominee.
G. Insufficient candidates. In the event that no candidates have made a valid filing by the December 12 at 9AM deadline, the Caucus will be canceled. In the event that no candidate has made a valid filing, the 77th House of Delegates District Nominating Committee will have the sole power to determine when and/or whether to nominate a Democratic Candidate for the Virginia House of Delegates District 77.
II. Caucus Officers, Officials, and Other Authorized Persons and Activities
A. Caucus officials appointments. The Chair of the Virginia House of Delegates District 77 Committee shall appoint all Caucus officers described in Rule II-B and such other Officers of the Caucus as is deemed appropriate.
B. Officers of the Caucus
- Nominating Committee
- Director (one at each voting location)
- Sergeant-at-Arms (one at each voting location)
- Head Teller
- Credentials Officers (at least two at each voting location)
- Members of the Tellers Committee (at least one at each voting
location)
C. Conduct of Caucus officials. All Caucus officials must wear official Caucus credentials while performing their duties at the Caucus. No Caucus official may engage in partisan activity (i.e., activity supporting or opposing a particular candidate) while performing the duties of a Caucus official, or while wearing credentials as a Caucus official.
D. Campaign poll watchers. Each candidate (or campaign) may designate one poll watcher per voting location. At any time, but with the permission of the Director or the Director’s designee, a campaign may “swap out” an individual serving as a poll watcher for another such individual. Each poll watcher must wear credentials identifying them as such. No person will be allowed to serve as a poll watcher and a Caucus official at the same time. No individual may engage in partisan activity while performing the duties of a poll watcher, or while wearing official credentials. No poll watcher may initiate a conversation with any participant (although he or she may assist a participant who requests it by directing the participant to a Caucus official) without the permission of the Director, nor may a poll watcher interfere with the privacy of individual voters casting ballots. Poll watchers may observe all aspects of the election, including the setting up of the Caucus site.
E. Media. Representatives from the press and other media outlets must be issued credentials as observers before or upon entering the voting room. Those issued credentials must not interfere with the voting process or the privacy of individual voters.
F. Neutrality. In accordance with Section 10.11 of the Democratic Party Plan certain party officials may not endorse. Additionally, the following caucus officers may not publicly endorse or support any candidate seeking the Democratic nomination for Virginia House of Delegates District 77:
- Nominating Committee Members
- Directors
- Tellers
III. Caucus Procedures
A. Ballot box preparation. No more than 1 hour before the start of the Caucus, the Director at each location, in the presence of any candidate (or designated candidate representative) who wishes to observe, shall open a ballot box to ensure that it is empty and seal the boxes in a manner that makes it impractical to open without evidence of tampering. During the course of the Caucus, if a subsequent ballot box is required, it will be opened, inspected and then sealed using the same procedure, with notice
to any candidate (or representative) who is present and may wish to observe.
B. Commencement of the Caucus. At 10am on Sunday, December 14, the Director at each location will declare that the Caucus has begun; no participant may enter the Caucus area before that time. The vote will be held from 10am until the last person in line to vote at 6pm has cast their ballot.
C. Sealing and storage of the ballot box. After the last eligible person has voted on Sunday, December 14, the Director at each location, in the presence of any candidate (or designated candidate representative) who wishes to observe, shall seal their respective ballot box. The Directors will deliver the secured ballot boxes to the Virginia House of Delegates District 77 Chair at Democratic Party of Virginia office at 919 E. Main Street, Suite 2050 in Richmond as soon as possible after the conclusion of voting.
D. Limits on campaigning. No campaigning or other partisan activities on behalf of or opposed to a Caucus candidate are permitted inside any Caucus building, and all campaigning and partisan activities are prohibited within forty (40) feet outside any entrance to any Caucus building. The use of any amplified audio system is not permitted within three hundred (300) feet of any Caucus building. No campaign or individual may interfere with persons entering or departing any Caucus location.
E. Required declaration form. At the door of the Caucus, the participants will receive the Democratic Party declaration form, which will require each participant’s full name and address, and a location for the participant to sign the following pledge: “I certify that I am a resident of and registered to vote in Virginia House of Delegates District 77; I am a Democrat; I believe in the principles of the Democratic Party; and I do not intend to support, endorse or assist any candidate who is opposed to the Virginia House of Delegates District 77 Democratic nominee in the ensuing election for Virginia House of Delegates District 77.” No participant will be permitted to vote in the Caucus unless he or she completes the declaration form.
F. Use of information. The list of voters who participate in the Caucus is the property of the Virginia House of Delegates District 77 Committee, and the Virginia House of Delegates District 77 Committee has the right to disclose to any person the fact that a person has participated in the Caucus.
G. Review of declaration. After each participant has completed and signed the declaration form, he or she will submit the form to a Credentials Official who will ensure that the form is completed in full and without alterations, including signature, after which a Credentials official will check the information against the registered voter list. A declaration form identified by a Credentials Official as not having been completed accurately and in full, as not including a signature, or as containing any alteration(s) to the pledge, will be rejected, although the participant will be eligible to submit an unaltered or complete declaration form.
H. Monitoring participant validation. The candidate poll watchers may observe, but not interfere with, the validation process. Any question regarding the eligibility of a participant should be taken immediately to the Director at that caucus location.
I. Standards for participant verification. A participant fulfilling the requirements of Rule III-E above is eligible to vote if he or she is validly registered as a voter in Virginia House of Delegates District 77 at the time he or she seeks to participate in the Caucus and if he or she presents a proof of address or photo identification listed in Rule J. When a participant presents a properly completed declaration form and proof of address, a caucus official will check the information from the form and proof of address or photo identification against the Caucus copy of the registered voter list to ascertain the participant’s voting eligibility. Voters who have completed the declaration form and been verified on the registered voter list will receive a vote ticket and proceed to the area where the ballots are located. The Credentials Official will check the box on the registered voter list to indicate the voter has participated in the Caucus. If a participant is not listed on the Caucus copy of the registered voter list, he or she may offer a certificate of voting eligibility issued by the Richmond or Chesterfield Voter Registrar (i.e., a voter registration card or receipt) or demonstrate their registration via the Virginia Department of Elections website, in which case the participant will be eligible to vote in the ordinary fashion. A participant who is deemed eligible to participate in the Caucus by the Credentials Official will be instructed to proceed toward the area where the ballots are located.
J. Proof of address or Photo identification. A participant must show proof of address or photo identification. Qualifying documents include:
- Payroll check stub issued by an employer within the last two
months - U.S. Internal Revenue Service tax reporting W-2 form or 1099 form
(not more than 18 months old) - U.S. or Virginia income tax return from the previous year.
- Original monthly bank statement not more than two months old
issued by a bank - Annual Social Security statement for the current or preceding
calendar year - Utility bill, not more than two months old, issued to the applicant
(examples include gas, electric, sewer, water, cable, phone or cell
phone bill). - Receipt for personal property taxes or real estate taxes paid within
the last year - Current automobile or life insurance bill (cards or policies are not
accepted) - Certified copy of school records/transcript or official report card
issued within the last year by a school accredited by a U.S. state,
jurisdiction or territory Voter registration card - Driver’s license, learner’s permit or DMV-issued photo ID cards
displaying the applicant’s current address
12. Current homeowners insurance policy or bill
13. Canceled check (not more than two months old) with both name
and address imprinted
14. Deed, mortgage, monthly mortgage statement, or residential rental/
lease agreement
15. U.S. Postal Service change of address confirmation form or
postmarked U.S. mail with forwarding address label (must display
the applicant’s full name) - Valid United States passport
- Any other photo identification card issued by a government agency
of the Commonwealth, one of its political subdivisions, or the United
States - Valid student identification card containing a photograph of the
voter issued by any institution of higher education located in the
Commonwealth of Virginia - Any valid employee identification card containing a photograph of
the voter and issued by an employer of the voter in the ordinary
course of the employer's business
K. Provisional voting. If a participant believes that he or she is registered to
vote in Virginia House of Delegates District 77, but cannot demonstrate
registration via the foregoing methods, the Director will instruct a
Credentials Official to provide the participant with a ballot to cast
provisionally. Provisional ballots must be marked and returned to the
Director, who will seal the provisional ballot in an envelope, mark it as
provisional, affix to the outside of the sealed envelope the participant’s
declaration form, and hold the provisional ballot in the sealed envelope
without casting it.
L. Distribution of ballots. When a participant with a vote ticket arrives at the
location where ballots are located, a Caucus ballot officer will hand the
participant one official paper ballot in exchange for the vote ticket, with a
procedure ensuring that only one ballot is given to each participant.
M. Marking and casting of ballots. Caucus officials will direct each voter to
the location where he or she may make their ballot selection, and may
provide voting instructions as needed. Voters will mark their ballots in a
setting that permits observation by Caucus officials, but also permits voter
privacy and confidentiality of voter choice. Upon marking their ballot, each
voter must place the ballot into the ballot box. A vote is not considered
cast until it has been placed into the ballot box. If a voter spoils a ballot
before casting it, the voter may request a replacement ballot; however,
only the Director may exchange such a ballot for a fresh ballot. The
Director shall keep a record of spoiled ballots.
N. Disability Services. A participant with a physical disability may request
the physical assistance of one or more Caucus officials to execute any of
the tasks listed in this section (e.g., to read and/or mark any form and/or
place a ballot in the ballot box). When a Caucus official determines that a
participant should be permitted to cast their vote through Disability
Services Voting, a Caucus official must deliver a declaration form to the
participant, transmit the complete declaration form for registration
verification, obtain a ballot (if the participant is eligible to vote), deliver the
ballot to the participant, seal the marked ballot in an envelope to ensure
voter privacy, and return the marked ballot to the ballot box. Curbside
voting will be offered for individuals eligible to vote curbside under the
Code of Virginia.
O. End of the Caucus. Approximately five minutes before the appointed end
time, the Sergeant-at-Arms will step outside the doors of the Caucus room
and again outside the Caucus building to announce that the Caucus voting
will end at the appointed time and at that time the doors to the Caucus will
be closed. All persons in line at the entrance doors or in any designated
line for Disability Services Voting at the appointed end time will be allowed
to vote. Any person not in line or in the voting room by the appointed time
will not be allowed to vote.
IV. Determination of Nominee: Counting of Votes, Announcement of Results.
A. Ballot preservation. No ballots will be counted before all eligible voters
have cast their votes on Sunday, December 14.
B. Teller Committee. The Chair will appoint a Teller Committee to count the votes. The Teller Committee will comprise a Head Teller and at least four Tellers. The Teller Committee will meet to tally votes beginning as soon as possible after the conclusion of the caucus at the Democratic Party of Virginia office at 919 E. Main Street, Suite 2050 in Richmond. Boxes will not be opened and counting will not begin before 7PM or as soon thereafter is practicable. Candidates may have no more than two representatives, including themselves, present to observe the tellers.
C. Sequestration of tellers. While counting is underway, all members of the Teller Committee must agree to be sequestered in an area and not to communicate with the outside world. The segregated area will be designed to allow other Caucus officers to generally observe the Teller Committee’s activities without interfering with them.
D. Ballot box delivery. Each sealed and secured ballot box will be delivered by the voting location directors to the Democratic Party of Virginia office at 919 E. Main Street, Suite 2050 in Richmond immediately upon the conclusion of voting. At 7PM or as soon as practicable after 7PM, the Chair will examine the ballot boxes. Up to two candidate representatives (including the candidate) may be present to observe. Ballot boxes will then be opened.
E. Conduct of Teller Committee. The Teller Committee will count, record, and verify the results of the Caucus voting. At the conclusion of their activities, the Teller Committee must agree upon their tabulations and affix their signatures upon the written certification of the results. All activities of the Teller Committee will occur under the direction of the Head Teller.
F. Opening. The Caucus Chair or his designee will open the ballot boxes in the presence of the Teller Committee. At the commencement of the counting process, the Chair will also announce the number of provisional ballots cast and retained by the Directors.
G. Sorting. The members of the Teller Committee will divide the ballots according to which candidate, or no candidate, was selected on the ballot. If any ballot is unclear, any teller may ask at any time that it be set aside as a “questionable” ballot. The remaining ballots, once unfolded and sorted by candidate selected, will be redistributed for counting pursuant to the provisions of Rule IV-H, below.
H. Counting. The tellers will stack the votes into piles of 100 like votes for a given candidate and bind each stack together. Tellers are responsible for ensuring that each stack contains 100 votes for a particular candidate and each must sign a paper so certifying and affixing it to the stack. Any ballots that remain after the stacks of 100 votes are counted and certified will be counted into a short stack; all tellers will certify as to the number of votes in each such stack. The tellers must alert the Head Teller regarding any wrongly placed or questionable ballots. The resulting certified stacks of ballots will be gathered together by the Head Teller in a central place.
I. Review. When all ballots that can be have been placed into stacks, the Head Teller will then assemble the Teller Committee, which will determine how to allocate each of the questionable ballots that could affect the totals. The Teller Committee may unanimously declare that such a ballot be allocated to one particular candidate, or to no candidate. If the Teller Committee cannot agree unanimously, then the ballot must remain a “questionable” ballot and will be indicated as such for purposes of the Teller Committee’s certified total.
J. Tallying. The Head Teller, in the presence of the Teller Committee, will
then count aloud the stacks of votes and the number specified in any short
stack for each candidate, or no candidate, in turn. The Head Teller will
compute a total for each candidate. The Head Teller must then ensure that
all tellers agree on the totals (and report the total number of questionable
ballots, if any). The Head Teller will report totals for each candidate from
each location to compute the overall total of caucus votes for each candidate.
K. Certification of results. Immediately upon the conclusion of all counting,
the Nominating Committee Chair will ensure that each member of the
Teller Committee certifies the tabulation; no announcement of the results
will be made until all reasonable efforts at this certification have been
undertaken. If there are provisional ballots that would affect the outcome
and those provisional ballots are ultimately validated, they will be used to
adjust the outcome.
L. Announcement of results. Unless the disposition of provisional ballots could determine the outcome, the candidate with the most votes total (combining the results from each location) will be declared the nominee. The Chair or his designee will announce the certified result to those assembled. The results will also be posted on the Democratic Party of Virginia website in a timely manner.
M. Preservation of ballots. After the Chair or his designee has announced the results, all ballots and provisional ballots will be taken up, sealed, and secured for preservation.
N. Provisional ballots. If provisional ballots are cast during the Caucus, and the number of those provisional ballots could potentially alter the outcome of the Caucus (i.e. the identity of a nominee) if added to the results certified by the Teller Committee, the Chair or his Designee will announce the results, but the declaration of a Democratic nominee will not be made until the provisional ballots are verified and counted on the day specified in Rule V. If no provisional ballots are cast or if an insufficient number of provisional ballots are cast to potentially alter the outcome of the Caucus if added to the results certified by the Teller Committee, the Chair will declare the results and the provisional ballots will not be counted.
V. Disposition of Provisional Ballots, Ties
A. Accreditation of provisional ballots. The Chair will determine a time and day to consult with any relevant local registrar’s or their designee to verify whether those who cast provisional ballots were registered voters in Virginia House of Delegates District 77 as of the time of their participation in the caucus. The meeting will be announced to the candidates or their campaign representatives. Ballots cast by voters that the registrar determined qualified will be counted. Reasonable efforts will be made to
protect voter privacy (i.e., to avoid disclosing the selection(s) made by a particular identified voter). Any provisional ballots cast by voters who are not determined eligible will not be opened or counted.
B. Counting of provisional ballots. In the event there are accredited provisional ballots of sufficient number to possibly determine the election, a Provisional Teller Committee will convene to count them, otherwise the Chair or the Chair’s designee will count them. The Provisional Teller Committee will include the Chair and up to two other tellers appointed by the Chair. Each candidate may designate one observer to review the count of any accredited provisional ballots. The Caucus Officers listed in Rule II-B may also observe such counts. If the Provisional Teller Committee is in unanimous agreement on how to allocate the accredited provisional ballots, its members must all sign a certification to that effect. If they disagree, each member of the Provisional Teller Committee must indicate in writing to which specific candidate (or to no candidate) he or she would allocate each accredited provisional ballot in each relevant
round of tabulation, and a plurality vote of the members of the Provisional Teller Committee will determine the final allocation for each ballot in that round, with the Chair permitted to cast an additional vote to break any tie.
C. Determination of outcome. If the nominee has not been declared due to the need to ascertain the validity and disposition of provisional ballots, following the review of those ballots, the results of accredited provisional ballots (if any) will be added to the vote total(s) arrived at per Rule V. The Chair will declare that the candidate prevailing under the relevant part of Rule V as the Democratic nominee Virginia House of Delegates District 77.
D. Breaking of ties. In the event two candidates are tied, the Chair will flip a coin to determine the nominee. In the event three or more candidates are tied for first place, one candidate will be determined by drawing lots by the Chair.
VI. Appeals. If there are any challenges to the conduct of the election, they will be resolved by the Virginia House of Delegates District 77 Nominating Committee Chair. If there are further challenges to the Chair’s decision, they will be resolved by referring to the Democratic Party of Virginia Party Plan.