Does a Virginia general registrar have to follow the county's personnel policies, and does the county owe the registrar the same annual raises and leave benefits as other county employees?

Plain-English summary

The Appomattox County Electoral Board (Charles Haney and Mary Turner) asked the AG two related questions about the general registrar, the official who oversees voter registration and elections in a Virginia locality. Both questions turn on the unusual hybrid status created by § 24.2-122: registrars "shall be deemed to be employees of the county or city in which they serve" while also serving the Commonwealth in administering election law.

Question 1: Does that hybrid status mean the registrar follows the county's personnel policies, or only the electoral board's directions?

AG Mark Herring's answer: both, with the electoral board's direction trumping. Section 24.2-122 makes the registrar a deemed employee of the locality. So the registrar follows the locality's policies and practices "but only to the extent such policies and practices do not interfere with the orderly function of the registrar's duties." The electoral board, in turn, has statutory authority to appoint, remove (for failure to discharge duties), prescribe duties, and conduct annual performance reviews of the registrar (§§ 24.2-103, 24.2-106.01, 24.2-109, 24.2-109.1, 24.2-114). Both layers operate under the ultimate oversight of the State Board of Elections.

Question 2: Section 24.2-111 says the locality "shall be required to provide benefits to the general and assistant registrars and staff as provided to other employees of the locality." Does "benefits" include annual raises and leave retention?

AG's answer: No on raises, yes on leave. The statute distinguishes "compensation" from "benefits." Compensation (salary or wages) is set by the General Assembly's compensation plan in the appropriation act; localities are merely authorized (not required) to supplement. So a county may match its annual raises for its other employees, but does not have to. Leave, however, is a "benefit" in common employment usage, so the locality is required to provide the same leave retention benefits as it provides to other employees.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2020. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Background and statutory framework

The Virginia electoral system runs on a three-tier governance structure. The State Board of Elections sits at the top, with statewide policy and oversight responsibility. Local electoral boards are appointed by the chief judge of each judicial circuit serving the locality (§ 24.2-106), and they in turn appoint the general registrar (§ 24.2-114). The registrar oversees voter registration and serves as director of elections for the locality.

Section 24.2-122 creates the hybrid status: "[m]embers of electoral boards, registrars, and officers of election shall serve the Commonwealth and its localities in administering the election laws. They shall be deemed to be employees of the county or city in which they serve except as otherwise specifically provided by state law."

Electoral board authority includes: appointing the registrar (§ 24.2-114); removing the registrar for failure to discharge duties (§ 24.2-109(A)); prescribing the registrar's duties (§ 24.2-114(18)); conducting annual performance reviews (§ 24.2-109.1). All of this is subject to State Board oversight (§ 24.2-103(A)).

Section 24.2-111 has the compensation-and-benefits language: "The General Assembly shall establish a compensation plan in the general appropriation act for the registrars. The governing body for the county or city of each registrar shall pay compensation in accordance with the plan and be reimbursed annually as authorized in the act. The governing body shall be required to provide benefits to the general and assistant registrars and staff as provided to other employees of the locality, and shall be authorized to supplement the salary of the registrar to the extent provided in the act."

The 2019 compensation plan (2019 Va. Acts ch. 854, Item 84) sets registrar salaries and generally authorizes localities to supplement. The plan does require localities to supplement in certain instances.

Common questions

Q: Does the registrar use the county's HR procedures (vacation requests, time sheets, etc.)?
A: Generally yes, as a deemed employee of the locality. But not if a specific HR rule would interfere with the registrar's election-law duties. The electoral board's direction on election matters overrides general personnel policy.

Q: Who fires the registrar?
A: The electoral board, under § 24.2-109, for failure to discharge duties according to law. The county personnel office cannot fire the registrar for general personnel reasons.

Q: Can the county refuse to pay the registrar entirely?
A: No. Section 24.2-111 requires the locality to pay compensation in accordance with the General Assembly's compensation plan. The locality is reimbursed annually by the state.

Q: Why are raises treated differently from leave?
A: Because the General Assembly set up a specific compensation plan for registrars, separate from the locality's general salary structure. Compensation is "established" by the General Assembly. Leave is a generic employment benefit, and § 24.2-111 expressly requires the locality to extend the same benefits it provides to other employees.

Q: Can the locality pay the registrar more than the state plan amount?
A: Yes, in the locality's discretion. The statute "authorize[s]" the locality to supplement, but does not require it (except in specific instances the appropriation act specifies). The opinion noted that some appropriation act provisions require supplements to ensure registrars receive a statutorily-required minimum.

Q: What about retirement benefits?
A: The opinion did not break out retirement specifically, but the same logic likely applies: as a deemed employee of the locality, the registrar would be in the locality's retirement system as a benefit, with state contributions to compensation handled separately.

Q: Does this apply to assistant registrars and staff too?
A: Yes, by the express text of § 24.2-111: "general and assistant registrars and staff" all get the "benefits ... as provided to other employees of the locality."

Q: Who pays for the registrar's office space and equipment?
A: That's outside the opinion. As a general matter, the locality provides office space and operational support, with state reimbursement available for certain costs.

Citations

The opinion cites § 24.2-103(A), § 24.2-106, § 24.2-106.01, § 24.2-109, § 24.2-109.1, § 24.2-111, § 24.2-114, and § 24.2-122; 2019 Va. Acts ch. 854, Item 84 (compensation plan); prior Virginia AG opinions from 1972-1973, 1983-1984, and 1984-1985 on registrar status; City of Virginia Beach v. Board of Supervisors, 246 Va. 233 (1993) (statutory construction); and Grant v. Commonwealth, 223 Va. 680 (1982).

Source

• Landing page: https://www.oag.state.va.us/annual-reports-opinions/official-opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.oag.state.va.us/files/Opinions/2020/19-053-Turner-issued.pdf

Original opinion text

COMMONWEALTH of VIRGINIA
Office of the Attorney General
Mark R. Herring
Attorney General

February 28, 2020

202 North Ninth Street
Richmond, Virginia 23219
804-786-2071
Fax 804-786-1991
Virginia Relay Services
800-828-1120
7-1-1

Mr. Charles W. Haney, Chairman
Ms. Mary G. Turner, Secretary
Electoral Board of Appomattox County
367 Virginia Avenue
Post Office Box 8
Appomattox, Virginia 24522

Dear Mr. Haney and Ms. Turner:
I am responding to your request for an official advisory opinion in accordance with § 2.2-505 of the Code of Virginia.

Issues Presented
You request an interpretation of the phrase "deemed to be employees of the county or city" as used in reference to general registrars in § 24.2-122 of the Code of Virginia. Specifically, you ask whether this phrase means that a general registrar is subject to the policies and practices established by the governing body of the locality in which he or she serves, or whether the general registrar is solely subject to the authority of the electoral board for the locality.

You also request an interpretation of the phrase "shall be required to provide benefits to the general and assistant registrars and staff as provided to other employees of the locality" as used in § 24.2-111. Specifically, you ask whether this phrase means that a locality is required to provide a general registrar with an annual raise in salary that is provided to certain other employees of the locality. You further ask whether this phrase means that a general registrar is entitled to the same leave retention perquisites extended to other employees of the locality.

Applicable Law and Discussion

Status of General Registrars as Employees of Localities

In Virginia, an electoral board is appointed for each county and city by the chief judge of the judicial circuit serving the county or city.[1] Each electoral board appoints a general registrar who oversees voter registration and serves as director of elections for the locality.[2]

In relevant part, § 24.2-122 states "[m]embers of electoral boards, registrars, and officers of election shall serve the Commonwealth and its localities in administering the election laws. They shall be deemed to be employees of the county or city in which they serve except as otherwise specifically provided by state law."

The duties and powers of electoral boards are established by statute and by the rules and regulations of the Virginia State Board of Elections.[3] As noted above, an electoral board is responsible for appointing the general registrar, and it may also remove him for failure to discharge the duties of his office according to law.[4] An electoral board may prescribe duties to be carried out by the general registrar[5] and is required to conduct an annual performance review of the registrar.[6] As such, a general registrar is subject to the authority of the electoral board in these matters and as otherwise required by law.[7]

Consistent with prior opinions of this Office,[8] however, a general registrar generally must follow the policies and practices of the county or city in which he or she serves. Because a general registrar is considered an employee of the locality pursuant to § 24.2-122, he or she is bound by the locality's policies and practices, but only to the extent such policies and practices do not interfere with the orderly function of the registrar's duties, including those set forth in Title 24.2 and the rules and regulations of the Virginia State Board of Elections, and any other duties prescribed by the electoral board pursuant to law.[9]

Compensation and Benefits Provided to General Registrars

In relevant part, § 24.2-111 states:

The General Assembly shall establish a compensation plan in the general appropriation act for the registrars. The governing body for the county or city of each registrar shall pay compensation in accordance with the plan and be reimbursed annually as authorized in the act. The governing body shall be required to provide benefits to the general and assistant registrars and staff as provided to other employees of the locality, and shall be authorized to supplement the salary of the registrar to the extent provided in the act.

"An important principle of statutory construction is that 'words in a statute are to be construed according to their ordinary meaning, given the context in which they are used.'"[10] The statute references "compensation," a term that is understood in particular to mean salary or wages,[11] separate and apart from its provision for "benefits." Compensation is to be established by a compensation plan enacted by the General Assembly in the general appropriation act. The current compensation plan, enacted during the 2019 legislative session, establishes the salaries of general registrars and provides generally that localities "may" supplement these salaries.[12] Thus, a locality may provide a general registrar with the same annual raise given to other employees of the locality, but it is not required to do so.[13]

Unlike salary, however, leave is a "benefit" of employment.[14] The term "benefit" is commonly understood in the employment context as something other than salary or wages that is provided to an employee from an employer.[15] Accordingly, under terms of the statute, a locality is required to provide leave retention benefits to a general registrar "as [are] provided to other employees of the locality."[16]

Conclusion
For the reasons stated above, it is my opinion that a general registrar is subject to the policies and practices established by the governing body of the locality in which he or she serves, but only to the extent that such policies and practices do not interfere with the orderly function of the duties of the registrar. It is also my opinion that the term "benefits" as used in § 24.2-111 does not include an annual raise in the registrar's salary. Finally, it is my opinion that the term "benefits" as used in § 24.2-111 does include leave, such that a county or city is required to provide the same leave retention benefits to a general registrar that are provided to other employees of the locality.

With kindest regards, I am,

Very truly yours,

Mark R. Herring
Attorney General

1. VA. CODE ANN. § 24.2-106(A) (Supp. 2019).

2. See VA. CODE ANN. § 24.2-114 (Supp. 2019) (setting out a non-exclusive list of the duties and powers of registrars).

3. VA. CODE ANN. § 24.2-103(A) (2016); VA. CODE ANN. § 24.2-106.01 (Supp. 2019); VA. CODE ANN. § 24.2-109(B) (2016).

4. VA. CODE ANN. § 24.2-109(A).

5. See, e.g., VA. CODE ANN. § 24.2-114(18).

6. VA. CODE ANN. § 24.2-109.1 (2016).

7. Both the registrar and the local electoral board remain subject to the ultimate oversight of the State Board, in accordance with law. VA. CODE ANN. § 24.2-103(A).

8. See, e.g., 1984-1985 Op. Va. Att'y Gen. 126 (citing 1983-1984 Op. Va. Att'y Gen. 300, and 1972-1973 Op. Va. Att'y Gen.).

9. See VA. CODE ANN. § 24.2-122 (Supp. 2019); 1984-1985 Op. Va. Att'y Gen. 126 (citing 1983-1984 Op. Va. Att'y Gen. 300, and 1972-1973 Op. Va. Att'y Gen.).

10. City of Va. Beach v. Bd. of Supvrs., 246 Va. 233, 236, 435 S.E.2d 382, 384 (1993) (quoting Grant v. Commonwealth, 223 Va. 680, 684, 292 S.E.2d 348, 350 (1982)).

11. BLACK'S LAW DICTIONARY 354 (Bryan A. Garner et al. eds., 11th ed. 2019) (definition of "compensation").

12. See 2019 Va. Acts ch. 854, Item 84.

13. In some specific instances, the Appropriation Act requires that a locality supplement the salary of a general registrar. See id. These instances, however, do not appear relevant to your inquiry unless providing the type of raise you describe would be required to ensure that the registrar receives the statutorily-required supplement.

14. See 1983-1984 Op. Va. Att'y Gen. 300, 300.

15. See THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE 168 (Joseph P. Pickett & Steven R. Kleinedler et al. eds., 5th ed. 2011) (definition of "benefit").

16. VA. CODE ANN. § 24.2-111 (2016). The conclusion on compensation for accrued leave in a 1983 Opinion of this Office, 1983-1984 Op. Va. Att'y Gen. 300, 301, is distinguishable in that it was based on prior law limiting the amount of compensation that may be provided to general registrars.