February 22, 2022
Today, the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee killed several bills that aimed to roll back progress made for Virginians to easily and readily access the ballot box.
Majority Leader Dick Saslaw said: “Virginia Republicans continue the false narrative of preventing election fraud to institute restrictive and unfair blocks to the ballot box. Bolstered by the Big Lie, the attacks on voting rights come from a place of exclusion instead of inclusion. Killing these bills today signifies Senate Democrats’ resolve to a fair and free democracy.”
Caucus Chair Mamie Locke said: “Restricting access to the ballot box has been a tool used for over a century to keep certain communities from participating in their government. Making sure every Virginian can vote uninhibited resulted in record election participation, and makes us a more whole democracy where each and every one of us can be represented in our government. I’m proud Senate Democrats’ progress over the past two years will be preserved for future elections in the Commonwealth.”
The following bills were passed by indefinitely in Senate Privileges and Elections Committee this afternoon:
- HB34 (Campbell) – Repeals availability of ballot drop-boxes
- HB39 (P. Scott) – Restricts early in-person voting to the two weeks before Election Day
- HB46 (Ware) – Reinstates photo ID requirements and repeals the permanent absentee voting list
- HB185 (Ransone) – Repeals same-day voter registration opportunities
- HB196 (Webert) – Repeals the permanent absentee voting list
- HB956 (LaRock) – Requires absentee ballots to be returned to the registrar by closing of the polls on Election Day to be counted, removing the ability to postmark the ballot by Election Day
- HB1090 (Webert) – Reinstates photo ID requirements