by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist
Marcus Simon, a Democrat who serves in Virginia's House of Delegates, recently noted that when Republicans take over a state legislature one of the first things they do is to make it harder for people to vote. They do that, he argued, in order to hold onto their power by eliminating voters whom they deem likely to vote for Democrats. Virginia, a nominally southern state, was no exception to that rule. But last November Virginia elected its first Democratic legislature (House of Delegates and State Senate) in nearly a quarter of a century, and those good Democratic legislators along with Democratic Governor Ralph Northam immediately moved to eliminate obstacles to voting that were put in place by their GOP predecessors.
The Virginia legislature recently passed - and Governor Northam has signed - a series of laws that could serve as a model for increasing public participation in elections nationwide.
The Commonwealth of Virginia will now allow early in-person voting for forty-five days preceding any election - and no excuses are necessary. If a person simply does not like standing in line on election day, he or she may choose to go to the clerk's office and cast a ballot early. Lying to election officials is no longer necessary.
Starting with the general election of 2022, people may register to vote in Virginia at any time, including when they go to their polling place on Election Day itself. Citizens of the Commonwealth will also be automatically registered to vote when they visit the state's Department of Motor Vehicles to get car tags or have their driver's licenses renewed - unless they specifically decline to be registered to vote.
The legal requirement to present a legal state ID when voting has also been repealed. Now voters who do not have a valid ID will be required to simply sign a statement attesting that they are who they say they are.
Election Day, the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, will now be an official state holiday, a change that will give some workers the day off and will permit schools to close, all in an effort to give more people an opportunity to get to the polls. The legislation was balanced on the calendar by cancelling the Lee-Jackson Day, a Confederate remembrance holiday.
Another way to suppress voting, particularly voting by racial minorities, has been to deny the vote to convicted felons - even after they had completed their prison terms. Virginia incorporated a voting ban on ex-felons into its constitution, with a stipulation that only the governor could restore a felon's voting rights. Terry McAuliffe, the Virginia governor prior to Northam - and also a Democrat - tried to restore the voting rights to 200,000 former felons who had completed their sentences through one mass restoration, but the courts rejected that move. McAulliffe then grabbed a pen and began restoring voting rights on an individual basis. He was able to complete 173,000 before leaving office, more than any other U.S. governor in history. Since coming into offie, Governor Northam has restored voting rights to an additional 22,000 former convicted felons.
One party curtails the rights of people to vote in order to stay in power, and the other party knocks down barriers to insure that everyone has a right to go to the polls and cast their ballots.
Democracy is historically a very good thing - and it appears to be gaining strength in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Virginia has it going on!
Citizen Journalist
Marcus Simon, a Democrat who serves in Virginia's House of Delegates, recently noted that when Republicans take over a state legislature one of the first things they do is to make it harder for people to vote. They do that, he argued, in order to hold onto their power by eliminating voters whom they deem likely to vote for Democrats. Virginia, a nominally southern state, was no exception to that rule. But last November Virginia elected its first Democratic legislature (House of Delegates and State Senate) in nearly a quarter of a century, and those good Democratic legislators along with Democratic Governor Ralph Northam immediately moved to eliminate obstacles to voting that were put in place by their GOP predecessors.
The Virginia legislature recently passed - and Governor Northam has signed - a series of laws that could serve as a model for increasing public participation in elections nationwide.
The Commonwealth of Virginia will now allow early in-person voting for forty-five days preceding any election - and no excuses are necessary. If a person simply does not like standing in line on election day, he or she may choose to go to the clerk's office and cast a ballot early. Lying to election officials is no longer necessary.
Starting with the general election of 2022, people may register to vote in Virginia at any time, including when they go to their polling place on Election Day itself. Citizens of the Commonwealth will also be automatically registered to vote when they visit the state's Department of Motor Vehicles to get car tags or have their driver's licenses renewed - unless they specifically decline to be registered to vote.
The legal requirement to present a legal state ID when voting has also been repealed. Now voters who do not have a valid ID will be required to simply sign a statement attesting that they are who they say they are.
Election Day, the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, will now be an official state holiday, a change that will give some workers the day off and will permit schools to close, all in an effort to give more people an opportunity to get to the polls. The legislation was balanced on the calendar by cancelling the Lee-Jackson Day, a Confederate remembrance holiday.
Another way to suppress voting, particularly voting by racial minorities, has been to deny the vote to convicted felons - even after they had completed their prison terms. Virginia incorporated a voting ban on ex-felons into its constitution, with a stipulation that only the governor could restore a felon's voting rights. Terry McAuliffe, the Virginia governor prior to Northam - and also a Democrat - tried to restore the voting rights to 200,000 former felons who had completed their sentences through one mass restoration, but the courts rejected that move. McAulliffe then grabbed a pen and began restoring voting rights on an individual basis. He was able to complete 173,000 before leaving office, more than any other U.S. governor in history. Since coming into offie, Governor Northam has restored voting rights to an additional 22,000 former convicted felons.
One party curtails the rights of people to vote in order to stay in power, and the other party knocks down barriers to insure that everyone has a right to go to the polls and cast their ballots.
Democracy is historically a very good thing - and it appears to be gaining strength in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Virginia has it going on!
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