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
It took me all of one hour to leave home go to the polling place, vote and drive back home. Hardly an inconvenience exercising my voting right.
We could just vote by phone. “for democrat” press 1, “for democrat press 2”, “for democrat press 3” and so on. That’s what this is designed to do. Enhance democrat election odds regardless of the fraud that will be increased. Most absentee voters lied which in itself constitutes fraud. Some Virginians seem to want the state to embrace the politics we see in Illinois and other areas dominated by the democrat political machine.
Voting is serious and evidenced by polls of neutral organizations many voters in the presidential election had no clue as to any issues other than the name Obama. This is not the type of citizen participation we need. We need intelligent fully informed voters not just someone who is “allowed’ to cast a vote the easiest way. Our future depends on it and it is not something to be monkeyed with.
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.
Personally, I believe this is an excellent idea, which is long overdue, and I’m a white Republican in the Richmond area! Why cram thousands of people into voting on one day with today’s demands, especially on presidential election day. To be completely honest, most folks who voted “absentee” ballot did not fall into the qualified categories, i. e., they lied about reason for doing so. So, I recommend that absentee balloting be made “no excuse” voting. That way, everyone who wishes to vote will have the opportunity to do so on their own time schedule.
In the early history of Virginia, when farming was the predominant industry, Election Day was designed with the farmer in mind because it took the better part of a day to go to the polls to vote. But obviously our society is no longer predominantly farming, so there is no need to continue this practice. However, our lifestyle is very different today and we need the flexibility of voting on our time schedule. I don’t know whether this will involve a Constitutional change or not. If so, the GA should consider this change this year, because it takes about 3-4 years for it to become law.
Making it easier to vote is Kaines reasoning. I wonder how he plans to address the dismal turnout for the special election just held? 750 or so turnout. Maybe he should also propose to send a representative to each registered voters house and allow them to vote at home in the comfort of siting on their couch watching their big flat screen tv. Heavens no we don’t want to have them make any effort on their own to exercise their citizen responsibilities.
Eleazar, I hear what you’re saying there. I find that most politicians are crooked and work in their own self-interest, or their political affiliations self-interest. It’s a rare occurrence when their self-interest and the good of the people coincide.
My opinion is that there really isn’t a good reason to have elections within such a narrow time frame. I agree with you in that it is each citizen’s responsibility to get to the polls and exercise their hard earned right to vote. Personal responsibility being the key.
I also believe that we can make it more efficient and inclusive by expanding the time within which we accept votes cast. That would go a long ways toward avoiding the snafus that occurred during this voting cycle. I’m referring to hours long waits at some polling centers as well as voting machine problems that became a crisis due to the arbitrary time constraint.
I realize Virginia is changing and that is threatening to the status quo, which has been predominantly Republican in times past. Some folks would like things to stay the same because change threatens them and their view of what they feel is the most advantageous outcome. Time and change is like a river, you can’t stop it’s flow. Virginia Republicans often thwart change in voting practices (Motor-voter bill) in an effort to stem the tide of new voters who are predominantly Democratic. Trying to stop this changing tide is futile. Northern Va and Hampton Roads, some of the fastest growing areas, are drawing young folks and people who are not native Virginians. This is good for the Commonwealth for various reason but also changes the political mix in a way that affects Republicans and traditionalists the most.
In the grand scheme this will change. Voting on one day every four years is not conducive to the way most people live now. Efficiency, ease of use, and in a much smaller way - convenience, will factor into this change. I applaud Kaine for going about this in a manner not often taken in Richmond. I think that we, as Virginians, typically wait until change is forced on us. We wait until change is painful, quick, and decisive. We don’t allow ourselves time to prepare, or to ease into, a new situation or environ. Kaine, believe it or not, is a rising political star. He solidifies that title every day that he shows he has a view of the future that reaches further than 6 months down the road.
JackCrowX, your first complaint about the election was that you had to stand in line in the rain. I didn’t call it selfish, you made the complaint, and followed it up with an accusation that Republicans are “me first.” I will admit that I was trying to shame you for making that partisan generalization, not knowing anything about the individual that you were responding to. Judging by your comments, both in response to me and to others, I don’t think you’ve gotten the point yet.
I agree with you that democracy works best when everyone participates, but it’s not the job of government to “get more people to the polls.” Voting is an individual citizen’s responsibility.
For the most part, I agree with Randy, in his skepticism of government and politicians in general, and Kaine and this administration in particular. I’ve worked in government all of my adult life, so I’ve seen politicians and administrators up close and personal. Their motives are rarely altruistic.
How many other people would love to cram Kaine’s teeth out of his smihlrking face and down his throat?
JackCrowX - You may have your opinion but I think olberman is the bigges idiot on TV. Just another Bush hater who now expects us to give Obama a free pass. I get a kick watching him rant on Fox and OReilly on an almost daily basis. Must destroy his ego that Fox and OReillyl, with 4 times or more the number of views than MSNBC, ignore him, not even mentioning his name. Tell me, just what civil liberties issues have you personally suffered over the past 8 years? Seems many are more concerned of crimminal, foreign or domestic, rights than those of the ordinary citizen. But based on your post, not likely I will change your opinion nor you mine.
Here we go, Tim falling in line with the National Dems. Guess he has moved on to the priorities of his DNC appointment since he has such difficulties with his Va. Governor duties. Maybe some of the voter registration fraud noted in the 2008 election should be investigated first before we change rules. Or I guess you MSNBC viewers never heard of any irregularities? Anyone who does not want to put an effort to register or vote under current laws maybe doesn’t deserve a vote. Come on folks, is it really that difficult or are many just too lazy or looking for an excuse. Make it a National Holiday? Would that mean all election years? Would be like other holidays as people would use it for travel, shopping, or some other leisure activity they considered more important than voting. (Maybe that would eliminate some who should not be voting?) Odd that a Democrat is pressing for early votingto allow “all” to vote, but not defending legitimate military absentee ballots in 2008. The same party that also wants to eliminate secret balloting by employees on union contracts!!
Fair 77. You do understand that by being condescending it makes you appear oafish, boorish and excruciatingly painful to be around. However, it does show everyone the real you. Thank you for your transparency.
As for the racist comments, it wasn’t directed at me, it doesn’t apply to me, but, by choosing a far less inflammatory post over something that vile to discuss “respecting others”, it clearly lets everyone know right where you sit and it is either a position of fear or political alignment. Either way, it’s exceptionally sad in this particular instance.
JackCrowX. I’ll love the next four years. I’m looking forward to watching your collective eyes unglaze when you discover that Obama is just a confused, unremarkable speech maker and not a messiah with divine powers. Bush was an inarticulate speaker, but, Obama without a teleprompter IS torture. Obama is in for a rude awakening when all of the fringe groups who feel like he owes them something show up at his door with their hand out. If your think the world hates us now, wait until he gets done meddling in international affairs - he’s a train wreck waiting to happen. Hey, I’ll bring the popcorn, you bring the soda - we can watch it all unravel like an episode of COPS.
With regards to Olbermann: It’s funny, but, when people talk about torture, they really haven’t defined what they mean by it and Olbermann is no exception. Olbermann probably thinks a good stiff talking to, or, maybe, a letter of admonishment constitutes torture. Olbermann flipped out about abu-graib but was suspiciously silent when our enemies were cutting off the heads of their prisoners - that tells you all you need to know about Olbermann. Olbermann usually doesn’t get it right at all and if you watch him, you should consider renting a single room with twin beds at the Econo-Lodge so everyone else who watches him can join you.
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