Poor signature could disqualify Va. absentee ballots

RICHMOND

By next year's election, poor penmanship might be reason enough to disqualify a voter's mailed absentee ballot in Virginia.

The Republican-controlled State Board of Elections withdrew one set of rules governing absentee ballots - they gave election officials more leeway to count the ballots of voters who made mistakes filling them out - and substituted them with less-flexible guidelines.

The change comes as Republicans in other states work to tighten election laws ahead of the presidential election, a move some observers contend is part of a campaign to reduce turnout among voters, particularly Democratic-leaning ones, next year.

More than 5 million voters in some battleground states could face greater difficulties in voting because of stricter election policies on voter identification, registration and early voting, according to an analysis by the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law.

The study concluded those "new restrictions fall most heavily on young, minority and low-income voters, as well as on voters with disabilities" and they have the potential to "sharply tilt the political terrain for the 2012 election."

Virginia's absentee ballot proposal is "in line with what we're seeing across the country, which we perceive to be the most widespread voter suppression effort since Reconstruction," said Judith Browne-Dianis, a co-director of the Advancement Project, which lobbies for more open voting policies.

Removed from the current state absentee ballot regulation is language in the previous version that made it clear that illegible voter or witness signatures on a ballot wouldn't invalidate it, and a catch-all paragraph that specified ballots wouldn't be tossed if a voter's identity could be otherwise confirmed by election officials.

Those who support the catch-all provision say verification can be done simply by checking ballot return envelopes mailed by local registrars that contain identifying information for the registered voter who requested the ballot. Not all election officials agree that's an ironclad way of proving an individual voter cast the returned ballot.

Despite the changes, there are some similarities between the old and new state absentee regulations: They make allowances for voters who write a shorthand name like Bob instead of Robert on the ballot, omit their ZIP code, or make small address or date mistakes.

The policy is to be considered by the State Board of Elections later this month and could be in place by next year if approved by the U.S. Justice Department.

Some voting rights advocates consider Virginia's current rules too rigid because residents can vote absentee only if they meet certain criteria. Some other states offer absentee voting to all registered voters.

Virginians may vote absentee in person or by mailing their state ballot. Military members and those living overseas can cast federal write-in ballots.

In 2008, half a million Virginians voted absentee in some form - more than 13 percent of participating voters.

Debates over how state absentee ballots should be counted and how the rules should be interpreted aren't new in Virginia.

While state code makes it clear that improperly submitted paperwork "shall render the applicant's ballot void," it also states an application for an absentee ballot shouldn't be tossed if it has errors "not material in determining whether such individual is qualified to vote absentee."

And the law doesn't explicitly define which errors are allowed.

Likewise, federal law also some leaves room for interpretation.

Under the Voting Rights Act, officials are barred from denying a vote because of "an error or omission on any record or paper relating to any application, registration or other act requisite to voting" if it's not "material" to confirming a voter's eligibility.

Enough ambiguity exists in state law that local election officials have applied the rules for rejecting ballots differently over the years, said former state electoral board chair Jean Cunningham.

That's one reason why figuring out "the line between a silly oversight and a material omission" isn't an easy job because of all the possible ballot scenarios, said Chesterfield County registrar Larry Haake, past president of the Voter Registrars Association of Virginia.

Proponents of the current regulations say they're needed to create uniformity, provide guidance for local registrars, and protect election integrity.

"The goal here is to get things right on a tough issue... to err on the side of the voter," said Justin Riemer, confidential policy adviser to the State Board of Elections. The goal isn't to disqualify voters for sloppy signatures, he added.

Virginia Democratic Party executive director David Mills argues the Board of Elections, appointed by Gov. Bob McDonnell, is rewriting the regulations to create additional voting barriers for blocs of voters that tend to favor Democrats.

"If they can make just even a small tweak to that law that makes it even harder for an absentee vote to be counted, a critical analysis would tell you that they're doing this to get an advantage," Mills said.

Democrats also question the manner in which state officials abandoned the regulations approved last year and have asked the Justice Department to review the rescinded regulations.

Virginia should place a priority on finding ways within the law to count as many votes as possible, not make it more difficult to have your vote counted if you vote absentee, Mills said.

The absentee ballot rules approved last year by the State Board of Elections when it was led by appointees of former Democratic Gov. Tim Kaine provided more latitude to election officials to count ballots.

They were published as a final state regulation in December and submitted for review by the Justice Department.

Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli's office withdrew the rules in February before the Justice Department commented on them. A Cuccinelli spokeswoman said that was done at the request of the State Board of Elections.

Then in July, state officials canceled the rules so they could be replaced with new guidelines.

The current regulations are to be considered at an Oct. 17 meeting in Richmond.

Julian Walker, (804) 697-1564, julian.walker@pilotonline.com