As we enter the 2nd week of the 2022 General Assembly session, there are election law bills that we will be watching. They will be presented in the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee on Tuesday afternoon.
Last week, Senators Obenshain and Peake spoke to their bills (SB127 and SB 168) on re-establishing photo ID as a required document to cast a vote. You may recall photo identification to vote was passed in 2013 under Governor Bob McDonell and subsequently repealed in 2020 under Democrat control. Unfortunately, with Democrats in control of the Senate, both bills were defeated so we will head into another election cycle this year without photo ID in place in Virginia.
An election bill that our Virginia Fair Elections Coalition is backing is being patroned by Senator Bill Stanley and will be heard on Tuesday afternoon. SB80 seeks to eliminate the private funding of elections in Virginia. The Center for Tech and Civic Life, exclusively funded by Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, granted $3.7 million dollars to 38 counties or cities in Virginia in 2020. Inserting funding from Zuckerberg into Virginia’s election is disconcerting at best. Private funding of elections only leads to a continued mistrust of public elections and a concern that our elections are not truly free nor fair.
We urge you to call ALL of the members of the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee, insist that they support this important bill and VOTE TO ELIMINATE PRIVATE FUNDING of our elections. It will be voted on Tuesday afternoon!
Deeds (D) (Chair): (804) 698-7525 / [email protected]
Howell (D): (804) 698-7532 / [email protected]
Vogel (R): (804) 698-7527 / [email protected]
Reeves (R): (804) 698-7517 / [email protected]
Ebbin (D): (804) 698-7530 / [email protected]
Ruff (R): (804) 698-7515 / [email protected]
Spruill (D): (804) 698-7505 / [email protected]
Peake (R): (804) 698-7522 / [email protected]
McDougle (R): (804) 698-7504 / [email protected]
Surovell (D): (804) 698-7536 / [email protected]
Mason (D): (804) 698-7501 / [email protected]
McClellan (D): (804) 698-7509 / [email protected]
Boysko (D): (804) 698-7533 / [email protected]
Bell (D): (804) 698-7513 / [email protected]
Hackworth (R): (804) 698-7538 / [email protected]