The Virginian-Pilot
©
RICHMOND
The last hope for no-excuse, early absentee voting was extinguished Tuesday in a House subcommittee.
State Sen. Janet Howell's bill, SB83, would have allowed Virginians to cast a ballot in person before Election Day without having to give any excuse. Under current law, such voting is allowed only if voters provide an excuse for not showing up on Election Day, such as work responsibilities.
The Fairfax Democrat's bill passed the Senate 29-10. But the House panel killed it on a party-line vote, 4-2.
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Good. It was un-necessary.
Good. It was un-necessary. There are reasonable exceptions written in the law. Polls open at 6:00 AM until 7:00 PM. You have 13 hours to get to the polls and vote. If you can't make time to get to the polls or make arrangements to get there then you don't care enough about the election. Stay home.
By the way
It does my heart good that it was one of Janet Howell's bills that got axed in the House.
Republican voter suppression
Google "Florida voter suppression 2000 election" to learn what killing this bill was all about. Republican voter suppression is as American as apple pie.
election day is a week not a month
Folks should vote on election day unless they qualify for abseentee ballot. Neither is hard to do. Also I have to show a picture ID to get on an airplane, visit my kids school, or charge something on my cc in some stores--why not at the voting booth. IT is BS that people don't have picture IDS--I want all to have the right to vote (except non-citizens and convicted felons). Checking my ID is no big deal.
One reason comes to mind immediately
is that voting is a fundamental right. Getting on a plane, using a credit card, etc. is not. There is a difference. Checking your ID may be no big deal to you, but believe it or not, there are some U.S. citizens that do not have IDs or IDs are expired.
Virginia legislators should be ashamed
"Absentee voting by mail is allowed with no excuse in 28 states, and with an excuse in 22. No-excuse permanent absentee voting is allowed in 4 states. Early voting in person is allowed with no excuse required in 31 U.S. states, with an excuse in 3, and not at all in 16."-Wikipedia
"The same panel killed similar measures to liberalize absentee voting rules earlier this session."
Seems like Virginia legislators are again playing games with the voters to manipulate turnout. Look around the U.S. Virginians, it works.
Instead of making it easier to vote, the opposite is true.
Shameful.
Why not make it LEGAL and convenient for all to participate?
Some other posters here have the answer to that question.
Would this pass as an excuse
Would this pass as an excuse if someone presented it, "I am an illegal alien and I was out of the country tending to "business" at the time."
North Carolina
our neighbor, is one of the many states with no requirements for early voting. Their system works very well.
I guess some of you want to bring back "literacy tests" and poll taxes.
Hmmm...actually knowing the
Hmmm...actually knowing the issues that you are voting for or against...can't see anything wrong with that.
Actually, absentee voters are more likely to know the issues
Given the amount of people who claim to be 'undecided' on the eve of an election. Simply because a vote is cast early does not mean that it is an uninformed vote. I agree with you that votes should be informed, but unfortunately we do not have a magic bullet for that problem. But if you really think about it, absentee ballots may very well be one of the most informed choices. You are making a conscious effort to ensure that your vote is counted. Additionally, it is arguably one of the best ways to ensure against voter fraud, since you have an actual paper trail (although voter fraud will likely always be a problem).