Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam on Monday announced proposed legislation to repeal the state’s requirement that voters show photo ID.
From Daily Caller:
“Participation makes our democracy strong—we should encourage every eligible voter to exercise this fundamental right, rather than creating unnecessary barriers that make getting to the ballot box difficult,” Northam, a Democrat, said in a statement.
Delegate Kaye Kory, a sponsor of the measure, said in a statement “The photo ID requirement prevents the most vulnerable Virginians from voting and silences the voices of those who most need to be heard.”
The proposal would also allow people to vote absentee without providing a reason why they could not make it to the polls.
Democrat Terry McAuliffe beat Republican Ken Cuccinelli for the Virginia governorship in 2013 by only 56,000 votes. In 2014, Democrat Mark Warner squeaked by against Republican Ed Gillespie in a Senate race decided by less than a percentage point, or 18,000 votes. The attorney general’s race came down to a mere 165 votes.
Then, just before the 2016 election, McAuliffe restored the right to vote for 60,000 felons using an unorthodox procedure.
McAuliffe had sought to allow all of Virginia’s estimated 200,000 felons to vote, but state courts said each individual felon’s circumstances must be weighed. To get around that, McAuliffe used a mechanical autopen to rapidly sign at least 60,000 letters as if he had personally reviewed them each.
McAuliffe is a close friend of Bill and Hillary Clinton who managed Hillary’s 2008 bid for president.
