Kaine: Make voting easier
Clement Britt / Times-Dispatch
Governor Tim Kaine is proposing changes to Virginia’s election law to make absentee voting easier.
-- Gov. Timothy M. Kaine proposed legislation yesterday to allow no-excuse, in-person absentee balloting in Virginia -- a step he said that effectively would allow early voting in the state.
Kaine described the measure as "a good-government bill" with "a fraud-free environment."
Current law offers prospective voters 17 reasons for casting an absentee ballot, whether in person or by mail, over a 45-day period ahead of an election.
About 500,000 Virginians cast absentee ballots ahead of the Nov. 4 election -- 321,743 of them in person. On Nov. 1, the last day to vote absentee in person, some people stood in line for six hours at Richmond's City Hall.
The absentee ballots were among 3.7 million votes cast in Virginia in the presidential election.
"By allowing all voters to cast an absentee ballot in person, we can remove some of the practical barriers that prevent people from participating in the democratic process," Kaine said during a news conference at the state Capitol.
Twenty-six other states allow voters some period in which to cast a vote in advance without stating a reason, according to Kaine's office.
In Virginia, the no-excuse proposal has been introduced previously and killed by a House of Delegates subcommittee controlled by Republicans.
"Voting is easy," said Del. Jeffrey M. Frederick, R-Prince William, noting current law allows Virginians many excuses to cast absentee ballots. He said he is concerned that the no-excuse feature might lead to fraud.
"Voting is a responsibility, it should not be like shopping the Internet," Frederick said, emphasizing that he was speaking for himself and not on behalf of the Republican Party of Virginia, of which he is chairman.
Del. Mark L. Cole, R-Spotsylvania, chairman of the House committee that handles voting issues, said registrars last year complained they would have to add staff and increase their costs if the measure passed.
Under the Kaine proposal, voters would continue to have a 45-day period to vote early and would cast ballots at their registrar's office.
Kaine said momentum from the presidential election, which spurred a record turnout and record number of absentee votes in Virginia, plus the fact that House of Delegates Republicans have decided to allow recorded votes in subcommittees, improves the bill's chances in the General Assembly session that begins Wednesday.
A subcommittee of the House Privileges and Elections Committee killed the measure without a recorded vote last year, after it passed the Senate 31-9.
The League of Women Voters, the Virginia Electoral Board Association, and the Voter Registrars Association of Virginia back the measure.
Kaine said the proposal could save money, because election officials wouldn't have to buy new voting equipment to accommodate heavy voting on Election Day and won't have to hire as much staff to work at the polls.
Dels. Rosalyn R. Dance, D-Petersburg, and Robert H. Brink, D-Arlington, will sponsor the measure in the House. Sen. Janet D. Howell, D-Fairfax, is the Senate sponsor.
Kaine dismissed criticism that early voting might lock a voter into an unfortunate choice because of late-breaking news detrimental to the candidate.
"Voters who go to vote early only go when they've made up their mind. If they're still trying to decide, they don't," he said.
Contact Tyler Whitley at (804) 649-6780 or
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Reader Reactions
Soo then GHGIRL, should, lets say… someone who just turned 18 before this past election have been banned from voting because they are a high school senior who lives with their parents, does not work an afterschool job, and has their parents giving them money? Afterall, they are a legal adult, but they aren’t self-sufficient and rely on the assistance of their parent. They aren’t running their own lives.
I can’t staying try to decode Zerro’s post, but… he/she’s right. What if you get hurt in October and are temporarily on disability while you recover, should you not be allowed to vote? And in that case, what’s an appropriate limit? What about someone who is permanently disabled and unable to work or make enough to support themselves and receives some amount of SSI disability money? That’s public assistance, but due to something beyond the persons control (can’t help it if you become paralyzed by the fault of another). Should that person be allowed to vote? What about some of those single parents who just got laid off at Genworth? Odds are one of them will end up on public assistance while they try to get back on their feet. What if that happened to them in September right before an election? What about a parent who works so incredibly hard, but cannot afford their company health insurance (like many Walmart employees) and apply for FAMIS because their child has a medical condition that would end up costing the parent thousands of dollars out of pocket that she doesn’t have, but FAMIS can help?
The bottom line is, none of those people are committing a crime. Most of them are good people who work hard, but get the sh-t end of the stick in life. It’s the few rotten apples that make the whole pie look bad. Most people who receive public assistance aren’t “rotten.“.
Perhaps, GHGIRL, you’d like to go back to 1800 when only white men from the right family could vote. Need I remind you that (if your screen name is accurate) you are a woman, who would once have been banned from voting simply because of what’s between your legs. I sure hope you never find yourself in one of the above situations with your vote taken away because who’s going to be around to help you then?
you r right about geting a response GHGIRL,,to your felon,s..go to the UN stats,,and you will find that the USA locks up more people per capita,than CHINA or RUSSIA..look up the stats of VIRGINIA lock ups,,and you will find that va is in the top 10 of this nation of per-captia of lock ups !!and if you look at alll our laws overall,,1) there is a law against everything !!2) we all are herded to do only 2 things,,work and pay taxes,,thats all our society has become and now bailout the MADOFF.S,,ENRON,S ,,BNKS,,AIG,,ETC,,,,now of course if you drive a BMW,,you skate most laws,,or if you are a politician you get PARDON,,or you get a dream team set of lawyers,,and if you are MADOFF you get to sit in your 7 million pent-house,,while your next door neighbor who foolishly shopliffted a 10.00$ item at the local wal-mart goes to jail,,the diparity in this nation is disgusting,,AND YOU WANT TO TAKE IT FURTHER,,public assistance,,so the VET who is in the wheel chair,,because he offered his life so you can vote,,cannot vote because he and his wife and 2 kids are getting food stamps and sec.8 housing,,or lets say you have an on the job injury ,,or bad car accident,,and its not your fault ,,but you cant work and need welfare,,you cant vote,,you need more than fine tunning,,,,and to think i am the one on psycho-tropic drugs !!geee wizz louise where do these people come from !!you scare me girl !!i hope you never decide WHO is on the right track,,cause honeychild you aint !!you are mostlikely a young kid who should,nt be allowed to vote !!RIGHT !!
Special session
Generally, my feeling is that people who have a felony record and have lost the ability to vote did so by making poor life choices. I am not so sure I want people who can’t manage their own lives impacting mine. I say we don’t take it far enough. If you are on public assistance (with the exception of social security for retirement), you temporarily lose your vote. Once you prove you are on the right track making right decisions and are off public assistance, your vote is restored. Letting people on welfare vote allows them to basically “vote” for a continued welfare state. I think that voting should be a privilege you get by being a productive member of our society. If you can’t run your own life, you don’t need to have a hand in the decisions that impact your neighbors. (sure, there are exceptions to everything.. I am sure they will be pointed out here. Obviously, this is a basic idea that would need fine tuning.)
The Code of Va lists provisions for restoring voting rights to felons. Some violent felons are prohibited.
Metoo-What Oct 2008 legislation? The General Assembly doesn’t even meet in October, does it?
Bigbus- I really like your apparently intentioned misspelling of “Dimocrats”. How appropriate.
Big Bus- my comments about Wikipedia was directed to Tad as noted at the top of my post. It was not in response to you. Legislation passed in October 2008 disenfranchises felons for life. In other words, their voting rights can never be restored, whether or not they are pardoned. Read Tad’s Wiki link in his comment.
MeToo, I’m not quoting Wikipedia. The Virgnia statute states that a felon’s right to vote can only be restored through an EXECUTIVE pardon. It has been published in this paper and elsewhere that Tim Kaine PARDONED 2800 such felons. I’m sure your Dimocratic cohortsand the liberal media will try to play this down, just as you have. It is readily apparent that the Dimocrat party has undertaken a policy of trying to assure votes from the welfare/non-taxpaying segments of society to guarantee their continued election. After all, if you pay no taxes, get your every need taken care of by the government, and are taught to hate “big business”, people who make a lot of money, and, in general, the working minority, you have a vested interest in keeping the Dimocrats in office.
I still, after days of comments, see no reason *not* to make it easier and more convenient, to vote. More votes = more democracy. Isn’t that a good thing?
Tad: http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Incarcerated_felons_voting_in_Virginia
Also, on a side note, Wikipedia and such style “sources” are hardly credible as information can come from anyone, is not always connected to a refutable source. Only official published government documents and scholarly journals are considered credible sources. Go take a language arts class. It’s research 101.
A pardon does not in and of itself reinstate voting rights. It means you don’t have “Felon” on your “record” anymore. I’m not saying they DON’T vote, I’m saying they aren’t legally allowed to. Big Bus seemed to be implying that the GRTC or someone gave them a ride from the front steps of jail to the polls. Get over yourselves. Republicans are just as corrupt as anyone else. There is just as much fraud on the Republican end, you just don’t want to see it because you crutch on an argument that has no validity. You’re man didn’t win, suck it up and deal… otherwise you’re going to have a bitter 4 years.
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