State legislators upheld all of Gov. Bob McDonnell’s vetoes Wednesday, but rejected his changes to a voter ID law. … Both the Senate and the House voted down amendments to a voter ID bill that would let registrars compare the signatures of voters with their original registration signatures to determine if they’re eligible to vote. The bills—one of which was sponsored by Del. Mark Cole, R–Spotsylvania—say that if a voter doesn’t have identification, he or she must vote a provisional ballot, which will be counted later only if the voter provides identification to election officials. McDonnell made several amendments to the two bills, including allowing a registrar to approve a voter by comparing his signature with the signature on file in the registration records. That was done, in part, to help the legislation win approval from the U.S. Justice Department. Both houses rejected the signature provisions.
The Senate did so with no debate. In the House, lawmakers said it would add confusion to the process and require election officials to become handwriting experts. Several voter registrars had expressed concerns about the signature provision. Democrats predicted problems in cases in which a voter’s registration card was lost, or the signature was so old that the voter’s handwriting had changed. They also objected to the governor’s removing a provision that would let an election official approve a voter whom the official personally recognized. The House also rejected an amendment giving voters more days in which to bring identification to election officials if they don’t have it on the day of the election. Both bills will now go back to the governor, who can only sign or veto them.
Full Article: Assembly rejects changes to voter ID bill – The News Desk.