Lawmakers are considering a bill that would ditch the signature requirement for absentee ballots.
Last year, lawmakers took action to get rid of the signature requirement for absentee ballots in the November election; an effort to make sure people could still vote safely in the pandemic. Now they're considering a bill that would ditch the signature requirement entirely.
Republican Senator Mark Obenshain of Rockingham voted against the bill.
"What evidence is there that a single vote has actually been discouraged or repressed or that this has served as a barrier to anyone in Virginia or anywhere else that has a signature requirement to vote," asked Obenshain.
Senator Jeremy McPike is a Democrat from Prince William County who says he has heard from voters who say they’ve been disenfranchised because of the signature requirement.
"Hearing from constituents that later on received a notice that their ballot didn't count because of the signature issue and the disenfranchising of a vote," he said. "And one of those calls was from an 85-year-old veteran who had served his country."
The bill to ditch the signature requirement for absentee ballots passed the Senate on a party-line vote.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
