August 10, 2015
by Tram Nguyen, Co-Executive Director, New Virginia Majority
*This post is part of ACSblog’s symposium regarding the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
The principle of our democracy rests on the idea that each person has a vote that is cast and counted equally, regardless of who they are or where they come from. Fifty years ago, brave women and men marched across a now infamous bridge in Selma, Alabama, facing violence and risking death, asking only for that simple and fundamental right to vote. Today access to the ballot box is being threatened across the country and the struggle to defend our right to vote is still real.
Since the Shelby decision eviscerated the protections of the Voting Rights Act for which they fought, emboldened state legislatures across the country, particularly those that were previously covered under pre-clearance requirements, are passing more and more laws making it harder for citizens to vote.
For years, we in Virginia have been fighting against attacks on our voting rights. Prior to theShelby decision, we could at least count on the Department of Justice to review proposed voting changes, and we could challenge the laws before they were enacted. Now we are forced to challenge voting restrictions in the courts after they’ve taken effect, which can not only be a costly and lengthy process, but many voters already will have been unable to cast a ballot as a consequence.
Given the current voting rights landscape, civil rights advocates are getting more creative about how to protect voters from the most negative impacts of such restrictive laws. Across the country, many are looking at ways to work with secretaries of state and other election officials as they adopt regulations to implement these new laws.
For example, Virginia’s new voter photo ID law went into effect in 2014 without being subject to any sort of review. While the law was passed in 2013, an enactment clause delayed implementation until July 1, 2014, which gave voting rights stakeholders over a year to work with the State Board of Elections on specific regulations. We worked with the State Board of Elections under two different administrations – Governor Bob McDonnell (R) and Governor Terry McAuliffe (D), and ultimately the final regulations had bipartisan support.
We knew from similar laws passed in other states that communities of color, the elderly, and the disabled are disproportionately impacted by strict ID requirements. Obtaining photo ID can be costly and burdensome, especially if voters must provide supporting documents such as birth certificates.
While we firmly believe that the strict photo ID requirement places unnecessary barriers to voting, it was imperative that the regulations put in place mitigate as much as possible the negative impacts of the photo ID requirement on these communities.
By organizing voting rights stakeholders and communities across the Commonwealth, we successfully advocated for a set of regulations that would make it as easy as possible for voters to get a free photo ID card. Of all the states with strict photo ID requirements, Virginia’s is the most accessible. Voters without photo ID can obtain a free photo ID card in three easy steps:
1. Visit any general registrar’s office – voters do not have to go to the general registrar for their own locality.
2. Fill out a voter photo ID application and include basic information, the last four digits of their social security number, and birth date.
3. Get their picture taken and sign the signature pad.
Voters will receive their free photo ID card in the mail within 7-10 business days. If the individual is not registered to vote when they apply for a free photo ID card, they simply complete a voter registration application and turn it in before having their picture and signature captured. Their ID card will be mailed after the registration is processed.
Voters are not required to provide any supporting documentation to get a free photo ID card, and there is no deadline to request one. Voters who request a free ID card within 30 days of an election, and even on Election Day, will be issued a temporary voter photo ID card that they can use to vote.
We continue to look for ways to expand access to democracy, whether through legislation or administrative action, and we continue to engage and educate voters across the Commonwealth on these important issues because until the protections of the Voting Rights Act are restored, citizens will continue to face threats on our ability to cast a ballot. No matter our race or age, rich or poor, all Americans have the same power at the ballot box. Voting should be a hassle-free process since it remains the one time we are all equal.
