Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s veto of a photo identification bill was upheld by two Republican lawmakers who maintained that the election measure was flawed.
Siding with a solid bloc of Democrats, Delegate Bob Bloxom Jr. left Republicans one vote short of overriding the governor. The freshman lawmaker said requiring that mail-in requests for an absentee ballot be accompanied by a copy of the voter’s photo “wouldn’t solve anything.”
Delegate James Edmunds, R-Halifax, also bolted from the party line.
“A picture of someone’s photo doesn’t get compared with anything (at the election office.) It could be a picture of anyone,” Bloxom, of Mappsville, told Watchdog.org.
McAuliffe made much the same argument.
“The requirement would not in any way deter fraudulent voting since it provides no means of verifying the identity of the individual depicted in the submitted photograph,” the Democratic governor wrote in his veto message.
HB 1318 specified that the photo ID be “a copy of one of the forms of identification acceptable under current law.”
The bill exempted military and overseas voters and persons with a disability. Currently, only voters who complete absentee ballot applications in person are required to show identification.
The American Civil Liberties Union applauded McAuliffe’s veto. Executive Director Claire Guthrie Gastanaga said the measure “would have added another barrier to the polls.”
“Election reform advocates of all stripes concur that mail voting is the most susceptible to fraud. To reject this reform while other states like Kansas have seen great success only further damages voter confidence,” said Catherine Engelbrecht, president of True the Vote.True the Vote, a national voter-integrity organization, reports that identification requirements for absentee balloting “grow more popular with each legislative session around the country.”
Bloxom suggested the state Department of Motor Vehicles’ database could be shared to ensure proper photo identity. “You need a way to double-check,” the first-term lawmaker said.
Bloxmon said he could support such an approach, but declined to say he would sponsor the legislation.
Governor sidelines jury-list measure, too
McAuliffe killed another election-reform measure: HB 1315.
The bill would have required jury commissioners to provide local election officials with information obtained from individuals not qualified to serve as jurors. Registrars were directed to use the information to update their voting rolls accordingly.
McAuliffe’s amendment to add a re-enactment clause was rejected by the House, 67-32, and the governor vetoed the bill on April 30.
“I believe additional study is needed regarding the use and dissemination of the data before it becomes a permanent part of our court and election processes,” McAuliffe said in his official message.
Engelbrecht said the action was “typical for McAuliffe’s background in machine politics — not governing.”
“Policymakers have a duty to prevent abuses to the bedrock systems of the nation when vulnerabilities are found. Their failure only further damages our shared confidence and emboldens those willing to commit crimes,” she said.
Delegate Mark Cole, who sponsored the list-maintenance measure, said he was “disappointed but not surprised by the veto.”
“The first step in preventing voter fraud and ensuring the integrity of elections is to make sure we have a good voter list,” the Spotsylvania Republican said. “Without that, you undercut all other anti-fraud measures, such as voter ID.”
Cole said he plans to reintroduce the measure in 2016.
Kenric Ward is a national reporter for Watchdog.org and chief of its Virginia Bureau. Contact him at (571) 319-9824.
