Bill would ease overseas Virginians' access to voting

Sen. Jeffrey McWaters wants to make it easier for overseas military members and other Virginians living abroad to vote by letting them send in their votes by fax or e-mail as an alternative to snail mail.

A bill from the Virginia Beach Republican gained the backing of a Senate subcommittee Wednesday.

SB82 is in line with Gov. Bob McDonnell's goal of enhancing ballot access for service members.

Separate bills filed on behalf of the governor call on the State Board of Elections to develop a pilot program for secure ballot delivery and return by overseas voters.

The ultimate goal, a state election official said, is to streamline the ballot transmission process to avoid problems that sometimes arise over sending and receiving overseas ballots in time for them to be tallied in election results.

Virginia recently received federal grant funding that officials plan to use in that mission.