Worst of the Week: Conservative Voter Suppression

March 9, 2012

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports, "Senate Bill 1 -- previously the subject of fierce debate with Democratic opponents claiming it was designed to disenfranchise minorities, the elderly and the young -- passed the House 64-34. It had only cleared the Senate after Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling broke a 20-20 party line vote. Currently, a person who shows up at the polls without proper ID is allowed to vote normally after signing an affidavit swearing they're a registered voter."

Progressive Point: Voting is a fundamental American freedom. But just days after their attacks on women's rights, the same out-of-touch legislators passed legislation making it harder to vote in Virginia. Excessive and unnecessary ID requirements could keep thousands of senior, minority, low income, and student voters from casting a ballot.

Conservatives are unable or unwilling to focus on the job Virginia voters sent them to Richmond to do - create jobs, find transportation solutions, and invest in our economy. Our democracy works best when everyone participates. The only people who benefit from making it harder to vote are the legislators who made it harder to vote them out of office.

Get the Facts:

• Via the Commonwealth Institute:
  
  • "The Institute's analysis examined voter ID laws in Maryland, North Carolina, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nevada, Georgia and South Carolina, and put the cost for Virginia between $522,263 and $1,258,959."
  
  
  • "In a year of budget tightening and program cuts in other areas, the costs to the state represent significant tradeoffs. The cost of implementing these voter ID requirements is the rough equivalent of providing health care to between 396 and 954 Virginia children or  providing support for an additional 109 to 262 Virginia children to attend high-quality pre-school."
• SB 663 will allow concealed handgun permits to be used as acceptable form of voter identification. (Virginia Legislative Information System)


• Kent Willis, the executive director of the ACLU of Virginia, called Sen. Martin's bill "a clear violation of voter rights," and "any kind of restrictions you impose on ID disproportionately affect the elderly, low-income residents and racial minorities." (CBS 6, January 10, 2012)


• "At the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus's press conference on Wednesday, Sen. Yvonne Miller stated that the bill would take Virginia "back to the bad old days when there was a very small electorate, when only men could vote and only white men who owned property could vote." (Virginian-Pilot, January 11, 2012)


• Sen. Mamie Locke describes the bill as an "effort to suppress the vote," and Sen. Donald McEachin stated, "These are solutions looking for problems. There is no problem with voter fraud in Virginia." (Richmond Times Dispatch, January 11, 2012)

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