Gov. Bob McDonnell proposed amendments this week to a state Senate bill which aim to lessen the restrictions the bill would place on voters' proof of valid identification.
The bill, passed by the Senate in February and the House last month, would eliminate the provision which allows voters to cast a ballot without a valid state-issued ID, as long as the voter signed an affidavit confirming his identity.
McDonnell spokesperson Jeff Caldwell said in an email yesterday the bill attempts to increase election security by decreasing voter fraud.
"Ensuring the integrity of our elections is a cornerstone of a strong democracy," Caldwell said. "For people to have faith in their government, they must have faith in their elections."
The governor's proposed amendments to the bill would make four changes to soften the requirements for voters' proof of identification. One of the proposals would allow voters without valid ID to sign a document and have their signature compared to the one on file at the State Board of Elections.
McDonnell's amendment would also eliminate the provision which allows a poll worker to waive ID requirements if the officer recognizes the voter.
House Democratic Caucus spokesperson Joshua Karp said Democrats were concerned about the repercussions this bill could have on certain demographics.
"Eighteen percent of elderly don't have [a] photo ID, 25 percent of African Americans don't have a photo ID and 18 percent of young people aged 18 to 24 don't have an ID," Karp said. "These are people who could be really negatively impacted by these kinds of laws."
The amendments would allow students to use their community college IDs as valid forms of identification and would extend the time frame during which a voter could present an ID to the local electoral board if he did not have it when he first went to the polls.
Karp said he did not believe elections experienced any "measurable" fraud, as suggested by Caldwell, and said the right to vote was more important than eliminating any negligible fraud.
"Voting is a right in Virginia and in the United States," Karp said. "We shouldn't be restricting it."
Caldwell said McDonnell created the amendments to ensure Virginians would be able to vote without the threat of voter fraud.
"In reviewing this legislation, the governor wanted to preserve this goal of preventing illegal voting while making sure we do not stand in the way of legitimate voting," Caldwell said.
The General Assembly will review and vote on these amendments and changes the governor proposed to other passed legislation April 18.
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