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
Anyone who believes in the democratic process and their right to vote will MAKE the time to cast it! Everyone has things to do in their day, but you find a way to make it work if it’s important to you. Work, kids, carpools, soccer pratice, etc are all excuses. Anyone who’s too “inconvenienced” to vote is a voter who only does so because they think they should not because they have any conviction for the process or candidates!
MeToo - Maybe “Felons cannot vote”, but felons DO vote anyway:
http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Felon_vote_fraud
If you had read my post, you would have realized that Governor Kaine PARDONED 2800 convicted felons who HAD indeed lost their right to vote…..just in time to vote in the election. As I said, I wonder who THEY voted for. The Dimocrat party has no scruples about trying to find voters, legally, illegally, and manufactured.
Big bus- Felons cannot vote.
We all know what Tim means when he says he wants to make voting easier - like when he pardoned 2800 felons right before the election…..wonder who THEY voted for.
“Posted by ( Interested Read ) on January 10, 2009 at 10:36 am
I haven’t read all of the comments here, but the drift I gather is that some people oppose this due to racial, party, or geographical lines.“
No, the people writing to oppose those who oppose early voting assume their reasons are racial or party line, not sure where you get geographical. And I think Jackson was saying why change the rules for some who have lied in the past, not under the new rules. And what have you heard of the voter registration fraud in Ohio since the election, the “community organizers” paying voters to register numerous times? Not a thing. And many are still using voting machines with no backup. They are counting ballots out of car trunks in Minnesota. What is going to be the security on these “early ballots”? And on a completely different point, in these economic times, are we going to put more strain on local budgets by increased expenses of county registrars necessary to implement the early voting? Would it not be required on all elections, not just the every 4 year presidential one? If voting is so important to so many, why only 750 turned out for the recent special election in Va. Again I say what is so difficult of getting out on election day to vote. I am sure many of those complaining of the current voting system are able to make time in their “busy” schedules daily to do the other things important to them. The current absentee voting allow those out of town, out of state, working long hours and others the ability to vote. And as said, even those who easily lie using one of the allowed excuses can vote. So what will the supporters of this go after next if this is approved? Voting online, by phone text, illegals and felons voting? We all know how these things go, convince the people of these “small” changes one at a time until the ultimate objective is reached. You can question the reasons for support or opposition to an issue, but don’t question my passion or right to have such an opinion, and don’t stereotype all who oppose yours.
People who lie in order to vote absentee I don’t consider to be law abiding. As citizens of a society governed by law we can’t pick and choose which ones to observe.
I too have voted in every election since I was old enough to vote. I too starting in 1963 when I graduated put myself through night school and earned my degree all the while working, being married with a child. I was very successful and retired at 55. I don’t ever remember having a problem with voting on the one day that has been the norm since the birth of the country.
Ok hjackson, if you want to argue my points: this is NOT a reason to lie and commit fraud. Just because someone wants to vote by absentee is not lying or committing fraud (under this new plan), and no I’m not a spoiled brat wanting everything to be modified to coddle myself. Mind you, I had to wait until 21 to vote and have voted in every presidential election since 1968, I have put myself through college and I don’t owe any student loans, I earned my degree solely through night school, so I believe I’m very mature and well adjusted and can handle anything. I’m not necessarily saying I want the vote change, but I do believe this modification should be available for those who want it. Don’t insult me my asking how I handle life’s challenges! I’m employed, have no debt, not affected by the current economic downturn, took care of mother for 3 years before her death, nor asking for a handout. So, apparently, I live within my means and that’s handling quite a challenge! That’s more than I can say for some folks. But you insist on degrading law-abiding people who want honest change and no I did not vote for Obama. Grow up, there are other people out there besides self-centered people like you.
So a good reason is permission to lie and commit fraud? Our standards of conduct sure have slipped a bit.
Methinks that you are one of the “spoiled brats” citizens that thinks everything in life should be modified to coddle to them.
If voting is so much trouble for you how do you handle lifes other challenges?
As for hjackson’s comment, maybe it took you less than an hour and you probably are retired, to boot, but think of people who don’t have the time in the AM before going to work, working 8+ hours, then heading home, picking up child(ren), taking them home for someone else to take care of them, then going to vote, getting tied up in rush hour traffic, etc. You are lucky and are in the minority! Everyone else’s world is not perfect like yours. The only reason people lied is that the reason they wanted to vote absentee is because their reason does not fit into the one of the listed reasons, but they had to do it anyway.
The issue of not knowing who to vote for is the voter’s. That is their responsibility, regardless of the time and place of voting. Even the people who showed up on Tuesday had this problem, whether they were 18, 19 or 69! Being informed is not exclusive to place, time, party, race, or attitude. This change has nothing to do with politics in Illinois.
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