Early voting starts on Friday.
Virginia has 45 days of early voting, one of the longest in the country. And every year, Republicans offer legislation to roll back that window. But those efforts are rejected time and time again by Democrats who control the General Assembly.
"As you can imagine, many of our constituents throughout the Commonwealth are working numerous hours," says Senator Aaron Rouse, a Democrat from Virginia Beach who is chairman of the Senate committee that oversees legislation on voting. "So, lessening those days shortens the opportunities to make sure those members who are working those 40 plus hours a week the opportunity to vote."
But 45 days of early voting is too much, says Delegate Chad Green, a Republican from York County. He says it's just too expensive.
"It costs each jurisdiction roughly $2,000 a day," Green says. "So, when you add it all up, it's a considerable cost to the citizens in the Commonwealth to a number somewhere in the best of my calculations between $4 million and $8 million."
Green says he plans on voting Friday, the earliest day of early voting. And he says his district has one of the highest rates of early voting in Virginia. But he also says it would save money if election officials offered two weeks of early voting instead of 45 days.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
