McDonnell signs law requiring photo ID for voters

By Errin Whack,

Mar 26, 2013 05:19 PM EDT

The Washington PostUpdated: Tuesday, March 26, 1:19 PM

 

RICHMOND — Gov. Robert F. McDonnell has signed a bill that would require voters to present a photo ID to cast a ballot as soon as fall 2014.

McDonnell also issued an executive order directing the State Board of Elections to implement a plan to inform the public about the changes. The board also would help people lacking appropriate photo identification to obtain IDs before the 2014 elections, when the measure would take effect.

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The General Assembly passed the legislation this session over the objection of Democrats, who called the measure an unnecessary burden on the poor, elderly and minorities. In signing the bill, McDonnell emphasized that the law would provide for a free photo ID to anyone who lacks one.

“I thought the bill did properly balance the ballot security and honest election requirement with any civil liberty or impediment-to-voting concerns,” McDonnell said during his monthly WTOP radio appearance on “Ask the Governor.” “And the fact that there’s a free ID, just like we had last year. And we’re going to have a sustained voter education campaign. I think that will be implemented just fine.”

McDonnell’s action was among several he took ahead of Monday’s midnight deadline to amend or veto bills from the 46-day legislative session that ended Feb. 23. The governor also proposed changes to transportation overhaul legislation that passed the General Assembly last month in response to concerns from citizens and the business community — and in hopes of averting a legal challenge. He also tweaked language in the budget to make clear what would constitute Medicaid reform before the state expands the program under the new federal health care law.

On the issue of photo ID, McDonnell’s spokesman, Tucker Martin, issued a statement in support of voting regulations adopted last year. “The governor believes Virginia’s current system generally has proven successful,” Martin said after the bill cleared the Senate in February.

McDonnell sought last year to blunt criticism that the 2012 voter ID law disenfranchised some voters, and issued an executive order that elections officials mail new voter ID cards to registered voters.
He was asked on WTOP why he supported the photo ID bill even though he had said the current rules had worked well.

“I said there was good compliance with the bill last year,” McDonnell said. “That doesn’t mean it is sufficient scrutiny to be sure that when a voter shows up with an ID that does not have his or her picture, that that is sufficient to be able to determine whether or not it is that voter.”
The governor acknowledged that the bill is still subject to approval by the Department of Justice under the Voting Rights Act.

Transportation was the marquee issue for the term-limited McDonnell , who urged action in his final session on an issue that has long stymied the state, and the final compromise was hard fought in both chambers.

Key to the legislation’s passage was additional funding for two of the commonwealth’s most congested areas, Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads. But on Friday, Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli II (R) raised concerns about the constitutionality of the regional funding proposals.