By Eileen Pomeroy
(CNS) – One week into the General Assembly session, Senate Democrats already have killed several Republican bills echoing GOP election security allegations that would have restricted voting access.
The bills largely aimed to limit absentee and early voting, rolling back Democratic legislation that expanded access. These bills followed the recent creation of an “election integrity unit” by Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares.
Sen. Ryan McDougle, R-Hanover, and Sen. Amanda Chase. R-Chesterfield, both introduced multiple bills that did not make it out of the Democratically-controlled Senate Privileges and Elections Committee Tuesday.
McDougle’s three bills – SB 794, SB 880 and SB 878 – would have required photo identification to vote, limited absentee voting from 45 days to seven days before Election Day and made it a felony to intentionally help non-citizens vote. His office did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
“Early voting has become entrenched in our culture now and it has a number of benefits, but it does have some drawbacks,” McDougle said in the committee meeting.
Limiting early voting periods would take burdens off of local registrars, McDougle said. After some committee members voiced concerns about only giving localities a week for early voting, McDougle said he would be open to a longer period than seven days.
In response to SB 794, critics such as Sen. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond, pointed out the equity implications of such legislation. A lot of legislation is passed with the argument that it “will only affect a few people,” but it will still affect a minority of people, and barriers should not be placed on a fundamental right, McClellan said.
Chase’s bills – SB 834, SB 1317, SB 1319 and SB 1316 – would have repealed a permanent absentee voter list, provided lists of registered voters at a cost, rescinded drop-off absentee voting and allowed election audits, including one of the 2020 general election.
Another Republican bill that did not survive the committee meeting was SB 967 introduced by Sen. Mark Peake, R-Lynchburg, which would have restricted voter registration close to Election Day.
Despite Republican’s setbacks in the Senate, several matching pieces of legislation are still alive in the House of Delegates.
This includes HB 1877 introduced by Del. Phillip Scott, R-Spotsylvania, which was one of several bills that would reduce the weeks or hours of absentee voting. At the Committee on Privileges and Elections meeting Friday, the committee recommended advancing it with a substitute to combine similar pieces of legislation.
“We see states like Georgia that has shorter early voting time frames that have better turnout in relation to the actual registered voters,” Scott said in the meeting. “And so here in Virginia… reducing early voting from 45 days to two weeks really will not have that great of an impact.”
Scott listed the cost of early voting as one reason to limit it, but could not cite specific data on the number of voters who use the initial days of early voting periods.
During the public comment period, Debora Wake, president of the League of Women Voters in Virginia, voiced opposition to the bill, saying that it “unduly restricts early voting.”
Despite the largely partisan legislation concerning elections and voting procedures, there was bipartisan support to lay HB 1414 on the table, meaning that the bill will be kept in committee and not reach the floor. The bill would require party identification of all candidates on the ballot in local races, which are usually left off to avoid partisanship in Virginia elections.
Eric Maybach, Commissioner of The Revenue in Fauquier County, spoke in opposition to the bill during the public comment period because he wants all of his constituents to have the same level of comfort, he said.
“I’m proud to be a Republican,” Maybach said. “However, when I took office, I think it’s important that our residents don’t feel burdened by the bipartisanness and are welcomed to come in and speak to us.”
