Here are the actions the General Assembly took during the veto session on some of the voting bills that we have been following (courtesy of Project Vote). Note that the House failed to override the Governor’s veto of the idiotic mail-in photo ID bill by a single vote (65-34). This year’s battle for the State Senate will be epic, but we need to start winning back House of Delegates seats too. You can go to the Virginia Legislative Information System website and type in the bill number for more information on these bills.
List Maintenance bill HB 1315 was communicated to governor. This bill requires jury commissioners to transmit to the general registrar on request lists of persons not qualified to serve on a jury as a result of non-citizenship, lack of residency in Virginia or the county or city, felony conviction without rights restored, or having been adjudicated incapacitated. The general registrar would be required to utilize the information received pursuant to identify voters who are no longer qualified to vote and to initiate list maintenance procedures pursuant to state or federal law. A recommendation from the governor would require reenactment in 2016 to take effect.
Voter ID bill HB 1318 was placed on Calendar; the House vote on overriding the Governor’s veto failed 65-34 (66 votes required). This bill would require that any voter submitting an application for an absentee ballot by mail or fax must submit with the voter’s application a copy of one of the forms of photo identification acceptable under current law for voting in person. The bill provides an exception for military and overseas voters and voters with disabilities. Currently, only a voter who completes his application for an absentee ballot in person is required to show a form of identification.
List Maintenance bill SB 1350 was communicated to governor. As substituted, this bill would allow voters to cancel their registrations by notifying the Department of Elections by electronic means as approved by the State Board of Elections. This bill would allow the State Board to use including commercially available sources of data for voter list maintenance. The bill also makes mandatory cancellation of voter registrations for whom a notice that the person has moved out of the Commonwealth has been submitted to the Department of Motor Vehicles in accordance with the Driver License Compact in Virginia law. The governor recommended that cancellation under the Driver License Compact remain permissive rather than mandatory.