Changing the rules to vote restricts our American rights

September 6, 2012

The Cavalier Daily reports, "[R]ules that delay the counting of provisional ballots until days after Election Day could create problems for campaigns and election officials in the commonwealth, which is shaping up to be a battleground state... The verification process would be most burdensome to lower-income voters, who are less likely to have identification and are less able to take time off work to submit the appropriate documents after Election Day, said Valerie L'Herrou, chair of the Albemarle Country Democratic Party."

Progressive Point: The right to vote and choose our leaders is a fundamental part of what it means to be an American. But conservatives across the country are rigging the system to keep millions of Americans from voting against them by keeping many of us from voting at all.

These politicians are changing the rules in ways that make it harder for students, seniors, and people of color to cast a ballot that counts or even register to vote at all. Voting is a fundamental right no matter what type of ID you have in your wallet. Politicians changing the rules to make it harder for us to vote is contrary to the American principle that we're all created equal and restricts our rights to participate in our democracy.

Get the Facts:

• Virginia voters who have recently moved have until October 15th to update their registration to ensure their ability to vote in this year's election. (WAMU, August 29, 2012)


• The new voter ID law passed in Virginia forces voters who do not bring one of the approved forms of ID to the poll to cast a provisional ballot that will only be counted if they report to their election office with an approved ID within three days of the election. (Virginian-Pilot, July 30, 2012)


• Implementing these voting restrictions will cost Virginia between $522,000 and $1.26 million. (Washington Times, March 15, 2012)


• Proponents of the new Virginia legislation making it harder to vote say it's necessary to solve the problem of voter fraud, but even the bill's sponsor admits that voter fraud is not a problem and could not name an instance of it occurring. (YouTube)


• Currently in Virginia, "ex-felons must apply to the governor to have their voting rights restored after a waiting period." One of Virginia New Majority's goals is to have them restored automatically. Additionally, they are working to allow "no-fault" absentee voting which allows voters to vote absentee without needing an excuse as it is currently. (Washington Post, August 14, 2012)

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