Three pieces of legislation involving voting have been vetoed. Governor Terry McAuliffe announced the vetoes on Monday, saying all three would have created barriers to voting instead of improving the integrity of the system. The first bill was Senate Bill 1253, which would have required electronic pollbooks to contain photographs of registered voters that comes from the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles or from the creation of voter photo ID cards. It would also have not required the voter to present a statutorily required form of ID. McAuliffe wrote the bill required the state to make costly changes to the existing voter registration database that would not improve the integrity of the election. He also said no funding was provided by the legislation for localities to get and maintain the equipment necessary or for the state to prepare for implementing this requirement.
“Senate Bill 1253 would requires the state the expend a significant amount of money on unnecessary modifications to the statewide voter registration database without any benefit,” wrote McAuliffe. “To ensure the continued integrity of Virginia’s elections, we should focus on ensuring that the Department of Elections has sufficient funds to continues its ongoing operations, including vigorous list maintenance activities and voter education outreach, to remain a nationally recognized leader in election administration.”
Another Senate Bill, 1455, would have made it a misdemeanor for a person to give, offer or promise monetary payment to another person in exchange for that person registering to vote.
Full Article: McAuliffe vetoes bills concerning voter registration.