Common Cause Blog

Felon Voting Rights in Virginia

Virginia will be getting a lot of attention in the presidential election - it's one of the new battleground states. There are many good things about Virginia (the Big Eared ~~long-eared~~ bat, for one).

But there are many things that need reform: one of the nation's weakest campaign finance laws, many still voting on the mysterious electronic voting machines and behind the times on granting felons voting rights once they've served their sentence. The WaPo said today:

When it comes to felony voting rights, the Virginia constitution is a decade behind the times. ... Virginia legislators should make restoration automatic. Until they do, Mr. Kaine is right to grant voting rights to felons who have completed their sentences. Felons who have served their time shouldn't be excluded from the democratic process.

You can make a difference

Holding power accountable gets exhausting after awhile, doesn't it?

I was at a recent event talking about the importance of voting and how important it is to encourage others to view voting more than annual chore but as a secular sacrament.

The room was filled with the most diehard activists --� the kind that stand on town greens in any kind of weather to protest the war in Iraq and the kind groups like Common Cause depend on to push for reform. They were energetic and eager to the hit the streets in the name of democracy.

Then, something happened.

Voting & Margaritas

The big problems with our voting - electronic voting machines, vote-suppressing ID requirements, long lines - get attention in the media and by advocacy groups like Common Cause.� Less attention is paid to the face of voting - the tens of thousands of pollworkers who�run the polling place in neighborhoods across the country.� Of course, most are dedicated, do a good job�- but some don't.� This story came to my attention recently:

We shared a polling place with another precinct whose poll workers were a bunch of friends who seemed to see it as an all day party. They brought thermoses filled with margaritas and laughed and giggled and altogether made a very poor showing for democracy. ... One of them became and ugly drunk who went into a rage when I gave a provisional ballot to a black woman she had prevented from voting in her precinct.

And this dispiriting conclusion:

Those people that day made me ashamed of all of us, that we care so little about the franchise that people like that could ever be allowed to stand as gatekeepers to voting.

But that was not nearly so shaming as coming back for the next election and seeing that - despite the complaints and an Elections staff person coming out and seeing them - they were back on the job.

Not entirely a "Do Nothing" session

It turns out a good defense does make a pretty good offense.

The Connecticut Legislature wrapped up its 2008 session early Thursday morning. Although it was generally dubbed a "Do Nothing" session, Connecticut Common Cause was able to pass one essential bill and make sure a number of other bills aimed at either turning the clock on reform didn't head to the governor's desk.

Sure, it's easier to kill a bill than push a bill, but in the crush of the final days of session it is always possible to sneak a rat into�a marginally related bill.�Connecticut Common Cause checked�every bill passed by the Legislature. While we chuckled at�"An Act Concerning Beer Cooler Accessibility," which passed both chambers unanimously, we found nothing that would�chisel�away at any hard-fought reforms.�

That said, there were a number of bills that didn't make the cut this year and a few that did. For�a short session where only supposedly essential are to be called, it was a good year.

End of CT legislative session: The home stretch

The Connecticut General Assembly concludes its 2008 legislative session at midnight tonight, and for the first time in a long time, Connecticut Common Cause is playing defense as opposed to trying to shoehorn a reform at the last minute (in 2006, a critical campaign finance reform bill passed in the last two minutes.)

Bills that we were pushing for have either passed and been enacted into law, been tied down on the calendar with no hope of salvation or caught in internecine feuds between the House and Senate.

Now, we have to make sure that the so-called "Do Nothing Session" does nothing to turn back the clock on important reforms.

ID Blues in CT: Update

So far, attempts by proponents of Voter Photo ID to spark a debate have been stymied by a lack of opportunities. The state Senate has one bill on the calendar that could be called for a debate but hasn't for several days. Other election related bills have been relegated to the foot of the calendar, which is the legislative word for Limbo.� There was some scuttlebutt that the opponents of Voter Photo ID, pining to fight a good fight, might call an election bill, but it never happened. There's a lot of bills on the calendar and�not a lot of time left. This is one time the clock is working in our favor. Keep the e-mails coming. Let's keep the pressure on until the Voter Photo ID threat is gone.

Now, all we can do is wait...

There's only three days left in the 2008 legislative session.� Proponents of Voter Photo ID could float their amendment on any of those days, depending on whether or not the Senate or the House calls an elections bill.

In the Connecticut General Assembly as opposed to Congress, for those following from out-of-state, in order for an amendment to be called and debated, it must be germane to the underlying bill. There are a few elections bill left on the calendar, but who knows when, let alone if, they might be called. All the more reason to keep the e-mails coming.

I did a little research on the whole subject of voter fraud in Connecticut. It exists, but it is apparent that Voter Photo ID would do little to prevent it from occurring.