Voter Suppression In Virginia

When the Supreme Court in 2013 invalidated several sections of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, Virginia and other Republican-controlled state legislatures quickly passed voter suppression laws, most of them requiring a government-issued photo ID to prove identity at the polling place. This would disqualify the 200,000 voters in Virginia who lack photo ID.

The American Civil Liberties Union estimates that 25 percent of African American citizens lack a government-issued photo ID, compared to just 8 percent of whites; low-income and elderly voters are also disproportionately affected.

In July 2016, the Virginia Legislature passed a law to study the matter, HJ69.

The Legal Aid Justice Center filed a suit on July 6 declaring the practice unconstitutional. Over 900,000 voters in Virginia (of a population of 8.3 million!) have suspended driver's licenses because of outstanding warrants, unpaid parking tickets, or otherwise owing money to the state. The premise is that the voter can pay their fine and the driver's license will be activated. (Well, maybe that will happen by the August voter registration deadline.)

So who are these people with outstanding warrants and traffic tickets? Poor people, the unemployed, minorities, students, and the elderly – all considered enemies of the Republican agenda because they tend to vote for Democrats.

You can/should call the Virginia Board of Elections and accuse them of fraud; their 24-hour phone number is 1-800-552-9745 + 5.

Copyright 2016 by G.E. Nordell, all rights reserved