Yesterday, the Virginia Board of Elections decided “that voters must present a current photo ID or one that has expired within the past year to cast a ballot.”
Via the Washington Post:
The Republican-controlled board voted 2 to 0 Wednesday, with the Democrat absent, to narrow the definition of a valid ID, a move that one board member said would streamline and simplify the rules.
“We believe it’s a compromise and gives people a reasonable grace period,” said Donald Palmer, who was appointed to the board by former governor Robert F. McDonnell (R).
It seems very reasonable to us, but not everyone thinks so. Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., was among those on the Left who decried the decision:
Voter ID ruling of VA Board of Elections cld disenfranchise 300,000 Virginians. More GOP voter suppression 49 years after Voting Rights Act
— Rep. Gerry Connolly (@GerryConnolly) August 8, 2014
In 2012, roughly 3.7 million people voted in Virginia. Rep. Connolly seems to be saying that 8 percent of those votes were cast by people whose IDs are more than a year old.
Color us skeptical.
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