As the federal and state effort to encourage voting participation continues, we in the House are working on legislation intended to perfect each county's voting procedures. I chair a House Judiciary subcommittee which just passed two bills dealing with that issue.
The first bill would bring West Virginia into compliance with the "Help America Vote Act" of 2002. The federal government mandates that states make several significant changes to their voting systems no later than 2006. The requirement is tied to several million dollars in federal funding for election reform. In order to meet the 2006 deadline, the state needs to start the ball rolling this year.
The legislation, which will soon come before the full House Judiciary Committee, would change voting system requirements; address poll access for the disabled; adjust rules to allow greater access to information regarding the tally of ballots; require more general information regarding election day be regularly released to the public; create a centralized, computerized voter registration system; and establish identification requirements for people who want to vote by mail.
The federal requirements are very laudable, and I'm pleased that West Virginia is moving in this direction. But I do have some concerns about counties' ability to meet the very high standards which are being set in such a short period of time.
For instance, the federal law stipulates that counties provide voting machines that are accessible to the handicapped and blind in every single precinct. Handicap accessibility at the polls is essential, but providing such machines in every precinct may prove to be very costly. In addition, states will also be required to maintain a single, uniform, centralized, interactive computerized statewide voter registration list that contains the name and registration information of every legally registered voter in the state and assigns a unique identifier to each legally registered voter in the state. The information will be invaluable - setting up the computerized system will be expensive.
Other valuable measures can be enacted fairly quickly, such as the production of informational cards, to be given to each precinct, which include the date of the election, hours the polling places are open, instructions for mail-in registrants and first-time voters, a list of voters' rights and prohibitions against fraud and misrepresentation, and instructions for casting a challenged ballot.
Meanwhile, my subcommittee also adopted a combined bill that was the result of a year of study by a legislative interim committee. Because both the state and federal governments are working to encourage more and more people to vote, it's also necessary to help county clerks adjust to the increasing workload.
The legislation, created with much help from the Secretary of State's Office, would allow counties to count absentee ballots during the election period and process certain absentee ballots prior to closure of the polls; authorize the changing of ballot publishing dates before primary and general elections; alter absentee ballot signature requirements; and require notice to voters of law changes.
The bill also would reverse the rule which was in place during the 2002 election, which allowed voters to cast in-person absentee ballots on the Monday before election day. Because that rule proved too difficult for county clerks, this bill would move the deadline back to the Saturday before election day. But the legislation includes a caveat for the next election, allowing a person who has a reasonable excuse for missing the Saturday deadline (such as being unaware of the change or an illness) to vote on that Monday.
The intent behind each of these measures is to increase voter turnout by accommodating our increasingly busy lives. Our clerks and election officials have made a continuing commitment to give us all every opportunity to perform this solemn act of democracy.
I welcome and appreciate your input on these issues, or any other legislative matter. Please call me at (304)340-3106 or write to Delegate Virginia Mahan, 215-E, Capitol Complex, Charleston, WV 25305.