As we all know, one of the big progressive losers in the 2011 election season was Virginia, who ended up electing an almost 2/3 majority Republican House of Delegates and a majority-by-tiebreaker Republican Senate. Already, proposed bills are hitting the internet for the next General Assembly session in January, and Senate Bill 1 is a tightening of Virginia's voter ID law which would raise the barrier to entry for many people to vote.
Virginia has had laws on the books for years requesting photo ID for people to vote. Right now, one can refuse to show ID and instead sign an affidavit, on penalty of perjury, stating that they are who they say they are and they're only casting one vote. They could then vote as normal. That would end with this bill's passage, as its summary makes clear:
Voter identification requirements; provisional ballots. Eliminates the provision that allows a voter to sign a sworn statement that he is the named registered voter he claims to be in lieu of showing identification and provides instead for the voter to cast a provisional ballot if he cannot provide a required form of identification. The bill also provides that, in order to determine whether a person who cast a provisional ballot is a qualified voter, an electoral board may rely on a faxed copy of a person's identification. The bill also removes a Commonwealth of Virginia voter registration card from the list of forms of identification that a voter can present to demonstrate that he is a qualified voter.
Also eliminated in this bill is the provision that allows people to use their Virginia voter registration card, which are mailed out to voters after a new registration or redistricting, as a valid form of ID. After this bill's passage, the only options will be to either vote with a recognized form of ID (Social Security card, state-issued ID, federal-issued ID, or employer-issued photo ID), or cast a provisional ballot.
Once again, we see Republicans attempting to raise the barriers of entry to voting in order to correct the "problem" of voter fraud. Unfortunately, this time there may be no stopping them, as they control both houses of the legislature and the Governor's Mansion. There may be the possibility of a legal challenge to these provisions, as the $10 the DMV charges for a state ID card could be seen as a de facto poll tax; however, given the fact that other forms of ID are valid, it may be an uphill battle.
With the 2012 elections visible above the horizon, it becomes clear that this bill will set the tone for what the new class of the Virginia state legislature hopes to accomplish with their power. Virginians are in for a rough ride over the next two years.
Full Text of Virginia's Voter ID Law As Amended by SB 1 (2012)
