Tuesday, May 04, 2021

Improved Voting Access in Virginia; North Carolina, Eat Your Heart Out!

 

Virginia General Assembly
With Democrats in unified control of Virginia since the elections of 2019 (governor and both houses of the state lege), they made easier access to voting their top priority, and look at what they accomplished:

Open absentee voting for anyone who wants to cast a ballot early or to vote by mail, not just those who have an acceptable excuse. Almost 60 percent of voters cast absentee ballots last year. 

Legislators also approved ballot drop-off boxes, prepaid postage for ballot return envelopes, and a formalized process allowing voters to correct errors in their paperwork.

Repeal of Virginia’s mandatory photo ID rule, making registration near-automatic through the DMV, and passage of a state-level voting rights law that creates a stricter review process for any local election changes that might discriminate against racial or linguistic minorities. 

A proposed constitutional amendment that, if approved by voters, would automatically restore felons’ voting rights upon release from prison.

A bill allowing ranked-choice voting in local races.

 Legislation allowing same-day voter registration is scheduled to begin for the 2022 general election.


 

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