During the early weeks of this session, the legislature considered dozens of bills affecting voting rights. As expected, since many of the bills addressed the same issues, they were rolled together prior to crossover. As a result, there are a few remaining that we continue to track. These bills, however, will greatly improve voting rights for people with disabilities.
ABSENTEE VOTING
HB 1 (Herring) and SB 111 (Howell) are the two bills that will allow someone to vote absentee, in person or by mail, without stating a reason. Currently, people with disabilities may vote absentee but have to identify that they have a disability. dLCV has heard stories where some local polling officials decided that the disability claimed by the voter was not enough to keep them from the polling place. Lifting this requirement and making absentee voting available to all will ensure greater access to voting for all Virginians, especially individual with disabilities.
The House Bill (HB1) has been approved by the full House of Delegates and by the Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections. The Senate bill (SB 111) has been approved by the full Senate and has been heard in a subcommittee of Privileges and Elections, where the committee made a minor amendment.
IDENTIFICATION
HB 19 (Lindsay) and SB 65 (Locke) incorporate several proposed bills to remove the very strict requirements added to Virginia code in recent years, limiting the forms of identification that must be produced in order to vote. The identification requirements had a disproportionate impact on voters with disabilities and older voters who may not have possessed a driver’s license. Both bills removes the strict requirements and inserts a long list of possible forms of identification, including utility bills or government issued checks. If a voter does not possess any of those forms of identification, he or she may sign a sworn statement as to their identity and will then be granted the ability to vote.
The House bill (HB 19) has been approved by the full House of Delegates and by the Senate Committee on Privileges and elections, but with the Senate substitute. The Senate bill (SB65) has been approved by the full Senate and by a subcommittee of the House Privileges and Elections committee, but with the House substitute. We expect that the minor differences between the two bills will be resolved in a conference committee.
REGISTRATION
HB 872 (Bourne) and SB 219 (Marsden) now include several proposed bills that will make it easier to register to vote. The registration process can sometimes be onerous for people with disabilities. Both bills have been approved by their chamber of origin and are in committee on the other side.
RESTORATION OF RIGHTS
SJ 8 (Locke) offered a Constitutional amendment to remove the prohibition on voting for convicted felons. Virginia’s current prohibition disproportionately impacts people with mental illness, who might be charged with felonies due to behaviors related to their disability. The resolution was continued to 2021 in Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections, because constitutional amendment resolutions must be approved, first, in the second year of a two year session and then must be approved a second time in a new session of the General Assembly. The earliest we could expect to see this measure on a ballot is the fall of 2022.
We are available to educate policymakers about the impact of their decisions on the lives of people with disabilities. The mission of the disAbility Law Center of Virginia is to advance independence, choice and self-determination; protect legal, human and civil rights; and eliminate abuse, neglect and discrimination of people with disabilities through zealous and uncompromising legal advocacy and representation.