The topic of voter IDs took center stage this past General Assembly session. And despite the lack of popularity among several organizations, Governor McDonnell moved forward with signing the bills, which are some of the new state laws that just took effect this week. While the Governor did not like some of the provisions, he also issued an executive order as a compromise.
The bills that became law establish that a voter who doesn’t show an ID can no longer just sign a sworn statement that he’s the named registered voter. Opponents argued that it’s an effort to disenfranchise voters—especially minorities—and that there’s been no need to strengthen the law. But Senator Tom Garrett countered that while he was Louisa’s Commonwealth’s Attorney, there were at least two instances of voter fraud by two groups:
“In one of those instances, a group called ‘Women’s Voices-Women’s Votes’ which is part of the Tides Center has solicited the registration, and when the person who illegally registered queried as to whether or not this was a problem they said don’t worry about it, nobody will check and even if they do, nobody will do anything about it. So, you know there are loopholes in the system that some groups, it would appear, are actively seeking to exploit. All we want to do is close the barn door before the horses get out,” said Garrett.
Acceptable forms of ID will include utility bills, student and employer IDs, and bank statements. The Governor issued an executive order for the state to send new voter ID cards to all Virginians who are registered—and to launch an awareness campaign about the new voting process and the need for proper IDs.
–Tommie McNeil
Virginia Public Radio 