Until recently, Virginia was a state where voters had to have a reason to vote early. Now, the General Assembly is debating ways to make voting easier.
One of the most famous quotes about Virginia is from political scientist V.O. Key back in the 1940s. He wrote that compared to Virginia, Mississippi is a "hotbed of democracy."
That was an era of Jim Crow restrictions, but now, Democrats who run the House and Senate are trying to make Virginia a hotbed of democracy. Senator Barbara Favola of Arlington has a bill that would extend the deadline for mail-in ballots from noon on the Friday after an election until 5 pm.
"The motivation behind this bill is that it is actually taking the United States Postal Service on average 2.8 days longer to deliver mail than it used to just a few years ago," Favola says. "So, we're trying to keep track with reality, keep pace with the challenges that our voters might face when they put the ballot in the mail."
And what if those ballots had a mistake that needs to be cured? Delegate Virgil Thornton of Hampton Roads has a bill that would extend the deadline for curing errors on a ballot from the Friday after an election until the Monday after an election.
"By extending this timeline, we can ensure that every eligible voter can cast their ballot and have their voices counted," Thornton says.
The biggest change Democrats are trying to accomplish is getting rid of a part of the state Constitution that requires the governor to restore voting rights for people convicted of felonies. Because that requires a constitutional amendment, voters will decide that in November.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
