House subcommittee defeats voting-rights restoration bills

Chris Graham

House Republicans have defeated a package of bills that would have established a streamlined process for restoring the voting rights of nonviolent felons. A package of bills that had the support of General Assembly Democrats and Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell was killed in a House of Delegates subcommittee Monday morning.

House Dems unveil voting, election reforms

Contributors

After a presidential election where tens of thousands of Virginia voters experienced long lines and several hour long delays at the polls, Democrats in the House of Delegates unveiled a wide array of election reforms at a morning press conference. The election reform package included instituting an Early Vote period, extending voting hours to 8 p.m., restoring voting rights, and a host of other measures to increase access to the ballot box.

mark warner

Sen. Warner signs on as sponsor of FAST Voting Act

Contributors

U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Va) joined Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) in introducing legislation today that will make voting faster and more accessible to all voters. The Fair, Accurate, Secure and Timely (FAST) Voting Act of 2012 creates a competitive grant program to encourage states to aggressively pursue election reforms. It would provide incentives for states like Virginia to invest in practices and technology designed to expedite voting at the polls and simplify voter registration.