Virginia elections commissioner, who Youngkin is replacing, announces departure

Virginia elections Commissioner Chris Piper is leaving his post March 11 after Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration formally told him he won’t be reappointed to the job, according to an internal email Piper sent his agency Friday.

Piper, an appointee of former Gov. Ralph Northam, said in the email he had agreed to stay on a few more weeks to “ensure a smooth transition.”

“I am disappointed because I would like nothing more than to spend the next four years in this chair working hand in hand with each of you as we labor to restore the nation’s faith in our election process,” Piper said in an email to employees of the state Department of Elections. “However, I am comforted by the fact that I will be leaving this place in your hands.”

Youngkin has not yet named a replacement for Piper. But Piper’s email notes Rachel Lawless, currently a confidential policy adviser in the department, “has been reappointed to her role and will continue to serve.”

“My promise to each of you is that I will do everything in my power to make sure you are set up for nothing but success,” Piper said. “My loyalty has always been to you, the State Board, the general registrars, Electoral Board members, thousands of election officers, voters, and future voters of the commonwealth.”

Youngkin had already said he intended to replace Piper, but Piper’s email indicated he wasn’t “officially notified” until Friday. Piper had held the state’s top elections job since 2018. It’s routine for incoming governors to appoint a new elections commissioner, but Piper won bipartisan praise from lawmakers and the elections community as an effective administrator who avoided overt partisanship.