Virginia’s new voter I.D. laws expand voter pool

Shane Wade
Opinion Editor

With the upcoming presidential election and the abundance of voter registration volunteers on our campus, voter identification laws are becoming a prominent issue for discussion.

Thanks to new legislation passed by Gov. Bob McDonnell, Virginia is now one of the 16 states covered by the pre-clearance provision of the Voting Rights Act. we now allow for “non-photo” identification for voters, with the caveat that the vote initially cast is only provisional until the individual presents an approved form of photo identification to their local registrar.

In a time where there seems to be a crackdown on African-Americans, Latinos and other groups that have a tendency to vote for Democrats, it’s odd to think of a conservative state governor expanding the pool of potential voters. Though the law’s intentions might be more geared towards curbing the debatably existent problem of voter fraud, it has had the positive effect of expanding both who can vote and their ability to do so.

McDonnell can take what he’s already done and go further; in addition to expanding the current pool of voters with this law, he can also help pass legislation that makes it easier for people to acquire forms of photo identification required to vote. It’s difficult for some of us, who are comparatively privileged, to understand how someone currently ineligible to vote can function daily without any form of photo or government-issued ID.

Back in May, McDonnell also issued an executive order requiring the State Board of Elections to issue voter cards to eligible Virginian voters, an inevitably costly venture. But the governor would do well to remember that a great number of Virginia’s citizens are ineligible to vote because they have been disenfranchised by a preventative system.

Although he also announced new procedures and policy changes that reduced the waiting period for re-applying for restoration, Virginia still ranks among the lowest in the nation in voting rights restoration, with more than 300,000 felons still disenfranchised, according to RestoreOurVote.org, an American Civil Liberties Union affiliate.

Interestingly, if you happen to Google “voter-ID laws + Virginia,” you’ll be inundated with story after story decrying the “controversial Republican attempt to further disenfranchise Democrats.” This is one of times where a positive piece of legislation has passed through, but party bias has blinded otherwise intelligent groups and individuals into ignoring an opportunity for progression.