The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

Virginia Senate Democrats push back on GOP proposals aimed at tightening voting laws

January 18, 2022 at 7:07 p.m. EST
Virginia state senators met in session at the state Capitol in Richmond on Jan. 17. A Democratic-controlled Senate committee has killed several GOP bills aimed at tightening voter restrictions. (Steve Helber/AP)

RICHMOND — A handful of Republican bills aimed at tightening voting restrictions died on Tuesday in a meeting of a state Senate committee controlled by Democrats, who hailed the outcome as a show of blue power in a largely red Richmond.

“Today, we let Virginia Republicans know that we aren’t backing down in our effort to protect every Virginian’s right to participate in our government, truly representing those who elect us,” said Sen. R. Creigh Deeds (D-Bath), chairman of the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee.

The panel voted down bills that sought to require voters to present photo ID at the polls, require local registrars to verify Social Security numbers and other information before registering applicants as voters, and do away with same-day voter registration, which allows a voter to both register and cast a ballot on Election Day.

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Sen. Mark D. Obenshain (R-Rockingham), who sponsored one of the voter ID bills, compared his proposed requirement to workplace restrictions favored by Democrats during the coronavirus pandemic.

“Since Dems want proof of vaccination for work, how can they possibly oppose reinstatement of the ID requirement for voting,” he tweeted ahead of the meeting.

He followed up after the committee shot it down.

“Well it looks like the Democrats found a way to do just that,” he tweeted. “My bill went down in flames and the Democrats’ hypocrisy rung true.”

Democrats expanded access to voting in 2020, when they enjoyed control of the House, Senate and Executive Mansion for the first time in a generation. Republicans have been hoping to repeal some of those measures since taking control of the Executive Mansion and House of Delegates in November’s elections.

Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) ran for office playing to former president Donald Trump’s false claim that President Biden stole the White House, with the former private equity executive refusing to acknowledge that Biden had been legitimately elected until after he secured the GOP nomination. Throughout the campaign, Youngkin stressed the need to improve “election integrity” in a state Trump lost by 10 points.

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The committee’s action on Tuesday does not conclude the GOP’s push for tighter voting rules this year. Sen. Amanda F. Chase (R-Chesterfield), who calls herself “Trump in heels,” has several bills, including one that would require a “forensic audit” of each election. At her request, the committee agreed to delay action on her bills until next week.

Dozens of similar Republican-sponsored bills have been filed in the House. Among them are multiple measures to require a photo ID to vote and limiting in-person absentee voting to no more than two weeks before an election. Current law allows 45 days.

Other Republican proposals would eliminate several facets of the broader voting policies passed by Democrats that contributed to record turnout in last year’s elections, including the permanent absentee voter roll, no-excuse mail-in votes and drop-off boxes for absentee voting. They’re all on the docket for the House Privileges and Elections Committee, which meets on Friday and, under Republican control, is likely to be more friendly to them than its counterpart in the Democratic-controlled Senate.

Several bills aimed at tightening voter restrictions are sponsored by Del. Margaret B. Ransone (R-Westmoreland), chairwoman of the House committee, including one that requires absentee voters to supply the last four digits of a Social Security number, nullifies any absentee ballot that has not been signed by a witness, removes the permanent absentee voter list, and requires voters with disability or illness to apply every year to vote absentee.

But if those House bills make it out of that committee and win approval from the full House, they are likely to get a cold reception in the Senate committee.