BY CHELYEN DAVIS
RICHMOND—The state Senate on Monday passed its own version of a voter-ID bill that proponents say will cut down on voter fraud and opponents call a dismal reminder of the Jim Crow era.
The vote in the evenly divided Senate was 20–20; Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling cast the tie-breaking vote for the bill.
The bill, from Sen. Steve Martin, R–Chesterfield, is similar to one from Del. Mark Cole, R–Spotsylvania, that generated controversy last week.
The bill says that if a poll worker asks a voter for identification and he doesn’t have it, he must cast a provisional ballot, which is counted after Election Day.
Current law says that voters without ID can cast a regular ballot after signing an oath that they are who they say they are.
Martin said that the bill is “nowhere close to what’s been represented” and that it wouldn’t limit anyone’s ability to vote.
“It simply requires that voters show a form of ID before the vote is actually cast,” Martin said, adding that the bill allows voters to use as ID a government check, a utility bill or bank statement, or other item that shows their name and address.
Sen. Tom Garrett, R–Louisa, said many routine activities require ID, and there is “no nefarious intent” to the bill.
“You need an ID to get a book from the library. You need an ID to book a hotel room. You need an ID to get a season pass from Busch Gardens,” he said. “This bill stops just short of allowing one to vote based on a pinky-swear or a note from mom.”
As with Cole’s measure, though, opponents said the bill would make it harder for groups that are less likely to have a driver’s license—the elderly, the poor, racial minorities and others—to vote.
“The right to vote is one of the most fundamental rights any citizen has in our democracy,” said Sen. John Edwards, D–Roanoke.
He cited Virginia’s history with Jim Crow laws, the supposed “separate but equal” set of laws that treated white and black people differently.
“This bill would turn the clock back,” Edwards said. “We had the poll tax. Thrown out as unconstitutional, discriminatory. We had the literacy test that was thrown out too as discriminatory. I don’t want to see Virginia return to the Virginia of 50 years ago, a discriminatory Virginia that had Jim Crow laws. This is a solution in search of a problem. This is a solution that would cause a tremendous hardship on so many citizens.”
The House passed its version of the voter-ID bill last week. Edwards and others have predicted that Martin’s and Cole’s bills will end up in court or being rejected by the U.S. Justice Department.
Sen. Mamie Locke, D–Hampton, argued against the bill, saying that voter fraud tends to be random and isolated, and that the greater problem is voter apathy.
“We should be encouraging voter turnout, not finding barriers to limit participation,” Locke said. “This bill—and others like it—is so 1866.”
Chelyen Davis: 804/343-2245
cdavis@freelancestar.com
