Virginia Republicans took steps Monday to toughen the state’s voting laws in a move Democrats said would effectively discriminate against low-income and senior voters.
The Senate passed a bill along party lines — with Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling casting the tiebreaking vote — that would change how residents cast their ballots if they don’t bring proper identification to the polls. Those voters would have to cast a provisional ballot and then return with the proper ID or send it electronically to a local election board. If they fail to do so, their vote would be discounted.
Currently, voters who forget identification sign a sworn affidavit under penalty of perjury. But there is no threat of having their vote thrown out.
Democrats said the measure unfairly targets low-income and senior voters, two voting blocs that tend to vote for Democrats, and decried the measure as political move aimed at undercutting their support in the upcoming November elections. The poor and the elderly are less likely to have the necessary identification and the means to return to the polling place if they leave their ID at home, they added.
“There is nothing that has been shown to anybody that there is widespread fraud in the commonwealth of Virginia. That makes this bill not necessary,” said Sen. Mamie Locke, D-Hampton.
In a debate already playing out in other key presidential battleground states, Republicans insist the changes are necessary to ensure the integrity of elections and prevent fraud.
“The rhetoric on this bill is a little overheated,” said Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-Harrisonburg. “Those are the people who ought to be worried about this bill: the people who intentionally commit fraud.”
The House of Delegates passed a similar measure earlier, but will have to agree to the bill the Senate amended. Gov. Bob McDonnell would not comment on whether he would sign it.
Changes to Virginia’s election laws must be reviewed by the Justice Department because the state’s history of discriminating at the polls make it subject to the Voting Rights Act.
