Article XV also includes the procedure necessary for calling a constitutional convention in Virginia. Whenever a majority of the members of each house of the General Assembly vote for a convention to revise or amend the Constitution, the question of calling such a constitutional convention must be submitted to the qualified voters. If a majority of the voters favor such a convention for the specific purpose included in the original question submitted to the voters, the General Assembly at its next session must provide for the election of delegates to the special convention. The qualified voters elect the specific delegates to such constitutional convention.
Article XVI concerns rules of construction within the constitution itself pertaining to word usage. Article XVII, already described in this chapter under Article II, provides for poll tax exemption for members of the armed forces on active duty.
The original Virginia Constitution of 1776 consisted of 3,000 words. In 1830, the number of words was doubled with numerous revisions. In 1870, the number of words was increased six times the number in the original constitution. The present Constitution which was written in 1902 contains approximately 35,000 words. Consequently, as living becomes more complex, the constitution has become more lengthy.
State Symbolism
Certain symbols and emblems are approved by various state legislatures which indicate a particular idea or belief which is soon recognized or identified with a specific state. The official symbols of the Commonwealth are the State Seals, the State Motto, the State Flag, the State Flower, the State Song and the State Bird.
There are two state seals: the Great Seal and the Lesser Seal. The official seals now used in the Commonwealth were adopted and approved by a legislative act on March 24, 1930. The Great Seal consists of two discs, metallic in nature and two and one-fourth inches in diameter; there is an ornamental border one-fourth of an inch in width. On the front or obverse side of the Great Seal is engraved the figure of Virtus, goddess of courage, garbed as an Amazon representing the "genius of the Commonwealth." In her right hand, Virtus holds a spear which points downward toward the earth and upon which she appears to be resting; in her left hand, she holds a parazonium or sheathed sword which points upward. The head of Virtus is erect and her face upturned. The left foot of Virtus is placed on a prostrate figure of a man who represents Tyranny. The head of this symbol of Tyranny is to the left of Virtus with his distorted tyrannical symbols close by: a fallen crown, a broken chain and a scourge. At the top of this obverse side is the word, "Virginia," and at the bottom of the seal in a curved line is engraved the state motto: "Sic Semper Tyrannis" which translated means "Thus ever to tyrants," implying that such will be the fate of all tyrants.
On the reverse or opposite side of the Great Seal is engraved a group of three figures: Libertas, goddess of liberty and freedom, in the center with a wand and pileus in her right hand, Aeternitas, goddess of eternity, on her right with a globe and phoenix (a sacred bird) in her right hand and Ceres, goddess of grain and the harvest, on her left with a sheaf of wheat in her right hand and a cornucopia (horn of plenty symbolizing peace and prosperity) in her left one. At the top of the reverse side of the seal in curved line appears the word, "Perseverando." Originally, the reverse side of the Great Seal had engraved the motto: "Deus Nobis Pace Olim Fecit" meaning "God gave us this freedom" (Virgil's "Eclogues") but the motto was changed to the brief word, "Perseverando" in October 1779. George Wythe proposed the original design of the seal and George Mason originally recommended the motto for the seal at the Williamsburg Convention in 1776.
The Lesser Seal is one and nine-sixteenths inches in diameter and it consists of the figures and inscriptions found on the obverse side of the Great Seal.