Feb. 15, 2017 • 5
www.LEGACYnewspaper.com
GA fights over proposed stricter voting bills JAKE WOOD CNS - Virginia is on a path toward even stricter voting laws. An influx of voting registration bills flooded the floor of the General Assembly during the first 28 days, with 29 voting bills proposed in the House and 26 in the Senate. All but 15 of these bills have been killed, but some remaining bills have the potential to affect thousands of Virginia voters. The bills follow a narrow presidential election in which Donald Trump lost the popular vote by almost three million votes, but won the electoral college on his way to the presidency. Since the election, Trump has repeatedly claimed millions of illegal voters had cost him the popular vote, despite a lack of evidence to support his claim. House Bill 1598 attempts to eliminate these illegal votes, although there is also no evidence that voter fraud occurs in significant numbers in Virginia. The bill, introduced by Del. Mark Cole, R-Fredericksburg, requires persons to provide proof of U.S. citizenship when applying to register to vote. Any applicant who fails to show proof of citizenship will be barred from state and local elections, and allowed to participate in federal elections only. “There have been cases of noncitizens either inadvertently or intentionally registering to vote in the commonwealth,” Cole said while speaking on the floor. “This was designed to prevent that.” The bill infuriated Democrats in the house, who argued that the bill was an attempt to stop voter fraud that does not exist and that the bill would affect thousands of legal citizens. “I think committing a felony to vote in an election is not something any right-minded citizen would do. It does not happen,” Del. Mark Sickles, D-Alexandria, said. Del. Rip Sullivan, D-Fairfax, said
Del. Mark Sickles in response to Cole: “Almost six percent of Virginia citizens do not have a copy of their birth certificate or a passport, which are the only two documents that this legislation allows a potential voter to use. If we pass this bill, we will be creating an entire class of second-class citizens.” Civil rights groups, such as the American Civil Liberties Union, have spoken also spoken out against the bill. “This is an ill-considered proposal that seeks to put further barriers in the entrance to the voting booth without any reason, basis in fact or thought about the administrative and human costs,” a representative of the ACLU of Virginia said. The bill passed the House with a 64-33 vote along party lines. It has been referred to the Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections. Gov. Terry McAuliffe has indicated that he would veto the bill if it passed through the Senate. Another proposition to restrict voting rights took one step closer to becoming law with Senate Joint Resolution 223, which would counteract McAuliffe’s 2016 executive order that restored voting rights of more than 130,000 felons
who had completed their sentences. Virginia is one of few states where felons do not automatically regain their voting rights after completing their sentences. The new resolution, SJ 223, would make it even more difficult for felons to reclaim their right to vote. SJ 223 would restore voting rights only when the person has paid off their fees. Sen. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond, suggested that this is not fair for felons who already have difficulty getting jobs. “If you can’t get a job, you’re never going to pay off your fines,” McClellan said. “With this resolution, the General Assembly would undo the progress we have made in restoring rights for non-violent felons.”
Senate Majority Leader Thomas Norment, R-James City, who proposed the resolution, rebutted McClellan on the floor Tuesday. “The restoration of your rights does not mean you are not a convicted felon,” Norment said. “The barrier exists because you broke the law, not because of any Senate joint resolution.” The resolution passed the Senate, 21-19, along party lines. Other voting bills that passed before crossover day include a bill requiring verification of social security numbers before registering to vote and a bill allowing a voter identification photograph to be stored electronically. Several voting bills are scheduled to be heard by their new chamber early next week.