September 29, 2014
Mariah Timms
News Writer
Virginia News
State election officials said Thursday that nearly 200,000 Virginia voters may lack the identification needed to cast a ballot. Virginia voters must present a form of photo identification, like a driver’s license, at the polling station. This rule is under a new law past just this year. Even so, voters who lack the ID would be allowed to cast provisional ballots, although those votes are not easily counted. Many other states are pushing for similar regulations, and have earned criticism because of it. Opponents argue that the laws unfairly target immigrants and low-income voters, including young people, especially college students, and elderly citizens, who are less likely to have a driver’s license. For Virginia, at least, the Washington Post reports that a coalition of nonpartisan grass-roots groups have formed an objective called “ID Ready-Set-Vote.” The campaign is to help local residents register to vote and to obtain photo identification so that they may vote more easily. The group is offering free transportation and assistance to locations where this is possible.
