Dear Friend,

This week’s newsletter shares information on the upcoming meeting of the Senate Education and Health Committee, discusses National Voter Registration Day and early voting, and highlights select community engagements from this past week. Thank you for reading this newsletter and for staying informed.

Senate Education and Health Committee Meeting

The Senate Education and Health Committee will hold a special meeting tomorrow, Tuesday, September 17, from 2:30 - 5:30 pm in the General Assembly Building.

During the past academic year, some Virginia institutions of higher education were sites of student demonstrations, and these demonstrations were met with varying degrees of responses from college administration and law enforcement. The goals of this committee meeting are the following:

To gather information from the perspectives of engaged individuals about demonstrations that occurred on the campuses of institutions of higher education in the Commonwealth during the 2023–2024 academic year;
To understand the individual institutional responses to these demonstrations;
To receive clarification on the involvement of law enforcement agencies and campus police;
To evaluate current institutional policies on public demonstrations and free speech and to determine how these policies have been developed and modified, including the timeline of such modifications; and
To consider recommendations for legislation relating to campus demonstrations, free speech, academic freedom, and campus safety

The Committee’s agenda and details about the meeting are publicly available. The meeting is open to the public and will be held in the General Assembly Building. A livestream of the meeting will be available on the Legislative Information System’s Senate of Virginia Livestream.

National Voter Registration Day and Early Voting

National Voter Registration Day is tomorrow, Tuesday, September 17. Voters are encouraged to confirm that their voter registration is current and accurate through the Virginia Department of Elections. The deadline to register to vote and to update registration information is Tuesday, October 15. After that date, voters are still able to register at any time, up to and including Election Day; these votes will be cast using provisional ballots.

Early voting begins Friday, September 20. For my constituents in Senate District 15, information regarding early voting is available for each locality: City of Richmond and Chesterfield County. Expanded opportunities for early voting enacted in 2020 and 2021—including mail-in ballots, curbside voting, and expanded early voting—give constituents more opportunities and flexibility to vote between September 20 and Election Day, November 5. I encourage all Virginians to be “Day One Voters” on Friday, September 20.

Select Community Engagements

The past week was quite busy with a series of community engagements and travels.

Last Saturday, I joined other elected officials, business leaders, advocates, and community members for the Henrico County NAACP’s Freedom Fund Banquet. For eighty-six years, the Henrico Branch of the NAACP has advocated for equal protection under the law for all people within the areas of civil rights, education, access to the ballot box, and other critical issues.

Last Sunday evening, I traveled to Fairfax County to meet with the Fairfax County Democratic Committee’s Asian and Pacific Islander (API) Caucus. Members were particularly eager to learn about the issues on which the General Assembly will be focusing this upcoming session in the areas of reproductive freedom, health care affordability, teaching of comprehensive and inclusive history, and language access.

On Monday morning, I joined Delegate Debra Gardner (D-Chesterfield) for a tour of Brightpoint Community College’s Chester Campus. Brightpoint CC and the Virginia Community College System (VCCS, are critical partners across the state as we work to address our workforce needs in key economic sectors such as health care, manufacturing, technology, education, and more.

On Tuesday, my staff and I traveled to Roanoke to tour the Goodwill Industries of the Valleys’ Melrose Plaza. Currently under construction, the facility will house education opportunities for adults, financial literacy programs, a cafe, a grocery store, bank, library, museum, physical and mental health services, and a childcare center. Facilities such as these help ensure our communities have access to resources they need in one convenient location which is a boon to working families in particular.

Later that Tuesday evening, I was honored to provide the keynote address at the Roanoke Valley Democratic Women (RVDW) Annual Fundraiser. The women of Southwest Virginia are energized and ready to re-elect Senator Tim Kaine to the Senate and flip the 9th and 6th Congressional Districts by electing Karen Baker and Ken Mitchell respectively.

On Thursday morning, I joined some of my legislative colleagues from across Central Virginia at the Associated General Contractors of Virginia’s Legislative Breakfast. We discussed the work of the General Assembly and heard from Association members about their concerns for the industry and their employees.

On Thursday evening, I traveled to Arlington for the 29th Annual Kennedy-King Dinner sponsored by the 8th Congressional District Democratic Committee. At this wonderful gathering, we were energized by Congressman Don Byer and Congresswoman Veronica Escobar (TX-16). Congresswomen Escobar made history as the first woman elected to represent El Paso and the first of two Latinas from Texas to serve in Congress.

Also on Thursday evening, my Chief of Staff joined the Gloucester County Democratic Committee for its Annual Seafood Dinner. This year’s dinner was particularly meaningful as the Committee honored the life and legacy of Mr. Eldridge Cook and established a scholarship in his memory. Providing remarks that evening were former Governor Ralph Northam and Congressional candidate Leslie Mehta (CD1).

Saturday was a beautiful day in Richmond, as residents from across the region gathered at the annual RVA PrideFest. It was wonderful to connect with constituents and community members. Members of the Metro Richmond Area Young Democrats, the Richmond City Democratic Committee, the Henrico County Democratic Committee, and several other organizations were on hand to help educate and inform voters.

Later that Saturday, I joined members of the 4th Congressional District for a fun Freedom Fish Fry. In the 4th CD, voters are ready to re-elect Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan and Senator Tim Kaine. Enthusiasm for the Harris-Walz ticket is helping to ensure a large turnout across Virginia for all of our Congressional races.

On Sunday, I traveled to Goochland County to address a large crowd of excited Democrats at the Annual Ice Cream Social. This gathering provided enthusiastic support for Gloria Witt, the Democratic nominee for the 5th Congressional District. With the start of early voting on September 20, this weekend was ideal for mobilizing volunteers and ensuring community members have a plan to vote.

Following the Ice Cream Social, I joined the National Women’s Political Caucus - Virginia Chapter and the Center for CommonGround to discuss the damaging impacts of Project 2025 on reproductive healthcare. This radical game plan outlines instituting a nationwide abortion ban, criminalizing medical providers for providing critical health care to patients, attacking access to contraception, and more. The discussion addressed the concerns of our medical providers, the legal protections currently in place in Virginia, and the real consequences of extremist policies proposed by Trump and his allies.

Connecting With My Office

My office can be reached at the following:

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 804.698.7515

If you were forwarded this email, you can sign up to receive my office’s weekly newsletter here.

— Ghazala

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