Election Laws

League of Women Voters^®
of Virginia

Public Policy Position

ELECTION LAWS
The League of Women Voters of Virginia believes that democratic government depends on the informed and active participation of its citizens; that registration and voting should be made as easy as possible and that voting is a right and a responsibility.
Election laws should:

Be designed to facilitate and increase registration and voting with uniform standards and administration;
Require adequate mandatory training for election officials;
Ensure availability of registered voter lists for election purposes;
Ensure right to an absentee ballot for qualified voters;
Provide party identification of candidates on the ballot;
Assess cost of recount in a close election to the government.

Absentee Voting
The LWV VA believes that the emphasis of absentee voting provisions should expand opportunities for voting. Effective administration should be used to prevent fraud. We support the following measures to permit any eligible voter to vote an absentee ballot:

Use of a statement, under oath, that the applicant will be unable to vote in person on election day;
That written requests signed by the applicant should be acceptable;
The use of Federal Post Card application or simplified VA form should be readily available.

Methods used in other states to provide last minute absentee voting in case of emergency should be considered by the Virginia Board of Elections.
Early Voting
The League believes that extending the voting period to more than one day will increase participation in the voting process and improve the turnout in elections.
The League supports:

The extension of the voting period up to one month;
The ability of qualified voters to vote on Saturdays and Sundays;
Voting in person without specifying reason;
Choice of voting locations to ensure greatest participation should consider population diversity and distance but cost should not be a primary deterrent;
Measures to ensure secrecy, security, and integrity of the ballot.

Registration
The League believes that the primary purpose of registration should be to:

Prevent fraud;
Preserve an orderly system of voting; and
Facilitate election procedures.

To prevent fraud we support:

A system of signature identification be used with an alternative means for those unable to sign their names.

To create and preserve an orderly system of voting we support:

A requirement for state responsibility for initiating accessible voting registration for all with uniformity across the state. State law should require local election officials to provide registration opportunities at a variety of well publicized locations and at times convenient to all segments of the community.

To facilitate election procedures we support:

The redefinition of domicile for the purpose of voting to ensure each citizen his right to vote.
A statement under oath, but not subject to evaluation or interpretation, should be considered a declaration of intent to vote in one locality and no other. (1995)

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