Just 19 out of 100 Virginia House members are women – a far cry from parity in a state where 50.9 percent of the population is female. Underrepresentation is even worse in the 40-member Virginia Senate, where women hold six seats – just 15 percent.

Here is a timeline tracing women’s involvement in politics in Virginia.

The number of women in the Virginia General Assembly has risen steadily over the years. Even so, women still are vastly underrepresented among state legislators.

Of Virginia’s 140 state legislators, 25 — or 17.9 percent — are women. Thirty-seven states have a higher proportion of female lawmakers.

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli announced Friday that he will be appointing outside counsel to the Star Scientific case.

CNS reporter Katherine Johnson curated the social media stream to produce this report about Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s new book, “The Last Line of Defense.”

As if waiting in hour-long lines at the polls this past November wasn’t bad enough, legislation before the General Assembly may make it even harder for some citizens to vote.

The Senate Privileges and Elections Committee has approved a bill that supporters say would thwart voter fraud but opponents say would make it harder to vote.

A House subcommittee has rejected the Senate’s proposed constitutional amendment that would allow Virginia governors to serve two consecutive terms starting in 2017.

Democratic lawmakers blasted Republicans’ recent actions to redraw Senate districts and require voters to show more identification during a roundtable meeting with the League of Women Voters of Virginia this past week.

Democratic lawmakers blasted Republicans’ recent actions to redraw Senate districts and require voters to show more identification during a roundtable meeting with the League of Women Voters of Virginia this past week

Starting in 2017, Virginia voters could have the opportunity to re-elect the governor to a second consecutive term if the House joins the Senate in seeking to amend the state’s Constitution.

Virginia New Majority, a citizens’ group that supports “the progressive transformation of Virginia,” said Republican legislators are pushing bills that would suppress voting rights.

Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Bath, and Sen. Emmett Hanger Jr., R-Mount Solon, are friends. And they’ll remain friends, Deeds says, even if a controversial measure Hanger voted for costs Deeds his seat in the Virginia Senate.

Democratic leaders are speaking out after a Republican-led Senate committee killed a bill that would allow for more convenient voting options, later hours at the polls and easier absentee voting.

Less than $150,000 separates Virginia’s two candidates for governor, according to campaign finance reports filed by Republican candidate Ken Cuccinelli and his Democratic challenger, Terry McAuliffe.

It’s rare for students to vote in large numbers in state and local elections. Some student leaders say the reason isn’t just apathy: They say VCU students are discouraged from voting because they are divided among various election districts – and can’t flex their political muscles by voting as a bloc.

If VCU students want a direct voice on the Richmond City Council, they might look east for inspiration – to Williamsburg. In 2010, students from the College of William and Mary elected one of their own to the Williamsburg City Council.

Forget David and Goliath. In the money race in Virginia’s 7th Congressional District, it’s Wayne and Eric. Democrat Wayne Powell is challenging incumbent Rep. Eric Cantor, the Republican majority leader in the U.S. House. From a campaign-finance standpoint, it’s not much of a contest: Cantor has 58 times more money on hand than Powell does.

Here are search tools for looking up individual contributions to U.S. Rep. Eric Cantor and his Democratic challenger, Wayne Powell, during the 2011-12 election cycle.

A state legislator wants to make it easier for Virginians who can’t go to the polls on Election Day to obtain an absentee ballot. Sen. John C. Miller, D-Newport News, has proposed that voters be able to request and receive an absentee ballot by email. They still would have to return the completed absentee ballot by regular mail or by hand.

Gov. Bob McDonnell on Tuesday recommended changing some of the requirements in legislation requiring voters to show identification on Election Day. His suggestions would make it slightly easier for people who don’t have proper IDs to have their ballots counted. McDonnell announced that he was recommending changes to 130 laws approved by the General Assembly and that he was vetoing seven bills.

For Wayne Powell, Virginia’s 7th Congressional District “isn’t personal, it’s Cantor.” Powell, 62, is challenging Republican incumbent Eric Cantor of Henrico County for his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Powell is one of the three candidates running for the spot on the Democratic ballot this fall.

Several hundred citizens joined Democratic officials and civil rights leaders at the Capitol on Tuesday to rally against bills they say would suppress the voting rights of minorities, elderly people and low-income Virginians.

At least a half-dozen bills before the General Assembly are causing alarm among voting rights activists. They see the proposals as part of a broader trend in state legislatures across country. Last year, lawmakers in states such as Ohio, Wisconsin, New Hampshire and Tennessee passed laws requiring voters to show more identification before voting.

Residents of the Tazewell County towns of Bluefield and Pocahontas would elect their town councils in November instead of May under legislation unanimously approved by the state Senate.