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2012 SESSION

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Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections
Subcommittee Campaigns and Elections

Vogel (Chairman), Howell, Martin, Edwards, Petersen, Carrico, Garrett

Clerk: Hobie Lehman, Bonnie Shelhorse
Staff: M. Spain, D. Cotter, J. Austin
Date of Meeting: January 18, 2012
Time and Place: 10 AM / 3rd Floor West Conference Room

S.B. 1

Patron: Martin

Voter identification requirements; provisional ballots.  Eliminates the provision that allows a voter to sign a sworn statement that he is the named registered voter he claims to be in lieu of showing identification and provides instead for the voter to cast a provisional ballot if he cannot provide a required form of identification. The bill also provides that, in order to determine whether a person who cast a provisional ballot is a qualified voter, an electoral board may rely on a faxed copy of a person's identification. The bill also removes a Commonwealth of Virginia voter registration card from the list of forms of identification that a voter can present to demonstrate that he is a qualified voter.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 24.2-643, 24.2-651.1, 24.2-653, and 24.2-701 of the Code of Virginia, relating to elections; voting procedures; voter identification requirements.

12100190D

S.B. 55

Patron: Obenshain

Elections; voter identification requirements; absentee voting eligibility and procedures.  Revises the list of items that a voter may show to prove identification at the polls. The bill adds to the list several items now allowed to prove the identity of first-time voters for federal elections who registered by mail: a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, or paycheck that shows the name and address of the voter. The bill deletes the provision that allows a voter to sign a sworn statement that he is the named registered voter he claims to be in lieu of showing identification and provides instead for the voter to cast a provisional ballot if he cannot provide a required form of identification.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 24.2-643, 24.2-651.1, 24.2-653, and 24.2-701 of the Code of Virginia, relating to voter identification requirements; persons eligible to vote absentee; applications for absentee ballots.

12100289D

S.B. 57

Patron: Obenshain

Absentee voting.  Provides for an interval of at least five days after a person registers to vote before his absentee ballot application can be processed and includes an exception for military and overseas voters.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 24.2-701 of the Code of Virginia, relating to absentee ballot applications.

12102674D

S.B. 62

Patron: Stanley

Primary elections; voter registration by political party.  Adds party affiliation to the information that an applicant is asked to provide when registering to vote. The applicant may indicate that he is an independent. Voters registered prior to January 1, 2013, will be designated as independent unless they provide a political party designation in writing to the general registrar. Voters may change their party affiliation or independent status by written notice at any time before the registration records are closed prior to an election. The state party chairman of each political party must notify the State Board of Elections by January 31 of each year of the party rules governing who may participate in the party primary.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 24.2-530 and 24.2-535 of the Code of Virginia and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding sections numbered 24.2-418.2, 24.2-423.1, and 24.2-516.1, relating to voter registration by political party; primary elections.

12100717D

S.B. 63

Patron: Stanley

Elections; solicitation of absentee ballot applications or ballots.  Makes it unlawful for anyone to solicit, in person, absentee ballot applications or ballots from individuals in any hospital, nursing home, or assisted living facility. The prohibition does not apply to family members or to general or assistant registrars, electoral board members, or their staffs. A violation of the section is a Class 1 misdemeanor under § 24.2-1017.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 24.2-701.1, relating to solicitation of absentee ballot applications and ballots in hospitals, nursing homes, and assisted living facilities.

12101355D

S.B. 82

Patron: McWaters

Absentee voting; military and overseas voters.  Directs the State Board of Elections to provide instructions and procedures for the submission of ballots from military and overseas voters by fax or other electronic means.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 24.2-101 and 24.2-706 of the Code of Virginia, relating to absentee voting; duties of general registrars and electoral boards.

12100427D

S.B. 188

Patron: Miller, J.C.

Absentee voting; application by electronic mail or other electronic means. Provides that the State Board of Elections shall implement a system to accept absentee ballot applications electronically. Currently, an applicant may request and receive, but not submit, an absentee ballot application electronically.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 24.2-701 of the Code of Virginia, relating to elections; absentee ballot applications.

12101645D

S.B. 244

Patron: Obenshain

Primary elections; voter registration by political party.  Adds party affiliation to the information that an applicant is asked to provide when registering to vote. The applicant may indicate that he is an independent. The bill requires the State Board of Elections, in September 2012, to notify all registered voters of the new party registration law and send them a return card to indicate their party affiliation or independent status. Voters may change their party affiliation or independent status by written notice at any time before the registration records are closed in advance of an election. The state party chairman must notify the State Board by January 31 of each year whether the party will close or open its primaries. Further, the bill (i) adds a requirement that primary candidate petitions must be signed by voters registered as members of the party conducting the primary, (ii) sets the required number of petition signatures at one percent of the number of voters registered as members of the party in the election district where the primary is being held, and (iii) allows an official political party to retain that status so long as at least 15 percent of the Commonwealth's registered voters are registered as members of that party.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 24.2-101, 24.2-521, 24.2-530, and 24.2-535 of the Code of Virginia and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding sections numbered 24.2-418.2, 24.2-423.1, and 24.2-516.1, relating to voter registration by political party; primary elections, and definitions.

12102755D

S.B. 281

Patron: Smith

Elections; persons entitled to place on ballot; compliance with campaign finance disclosure provisions. Provides that a candidate will not be entitled to have his name printed on the ballot unless he has filed all required campaign finance reports and satisfied all civil and criminal penalties imposed under the Campaign Finance Disclosure Act.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 24.2-504 and 24.2-948.3 of the Code of Virginia, relating to elections; persons entitled to place on ballot; compliance with campaign finance disclosure provisions.

12102682D

S.B. 282

Patron: Smith

Voter registration; cancellations.  Requires the general registrar to confirm to the State Board of Elections the cancellation of registrations of persons reported to him to be deceased, to be disqualified for a felony conviction or adjudication of incompetency, to be a noncitizen, or to have moved from the jurisdiction or registered elsewhere.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 24.2-427 of the Code of Virginia, relating to elections; voter registrations; cancellations of registrations.

12102658D

S.B. 283

Patron: Smith

Illegal voting and registrations; write-in absentee ballots.  Clarifies that the prohibition against voting more than once in one election does not apply to military and overseas voters entitled to vote a federal write-in absentee ballot who may send in both the write-in ballot and a state absentee ballot. If both ballots are received, the state ballot will be the one counted.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 24.2-1004 of the Code of Virginia, relating to illegal voting and registrations; write-in absentee ballots.

12103343D

S.B. 385

Patron: McEachin

Campaign finance; prohibited interest payments on certain loans to candidate campaign committees. Provides that a campaign committee shall not pay interest on any loan to the committee made by the candidate or by a member of his immediate family. The bill contains a civil penalty.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 24.2-947.4:1, relating to campaign finance; interest on loans made to candidate campaigns; civil penalty.

12103916D