Should Virginia ease absentee voting rules?

Date published: 2/22/2007

THE RIGHT to vote was one of the signature achievements of our Revolutionary War and subsequent Constitution. To be sure, it was tainted goods--suffrage was deemed acceptable only for land-owning white males--but the very idea of choosing all of a nation's leaders was a historic breakthrough. More wars and some amendments later, and all citizens won the chance to wait in line on Election Day. Today's battles are about means: How should votes be cast, and how can we ensure that ballots are properly counted? Central to that debate is the issue of absentee voting.

Virginia's General Assembly is one of many legislatures looking to ease restrictions on voting prior to Election Day. The most far-reaching bill, SB 920, would allow voters to turn in an absentee ballot in person, for any reason. If passed (the bill is languishing in the the House Privileges and Elections Committee), it would represent significant change for the Old Dominion; currently, all would-be early voters have to prove they couldn't make it to the polls--due to military service, physical disability, being a full-time student away from his or her district, and so forth.

In theory, absentee (or early) voting meets the common-sense test. Democracy requires an engaged citizenry; making it easier to vote moves us toward that goal. Twenty-four states allow unrestricted absentee voting. But before Virginia jumps to "whenever, wherever" balloting, let's ensure that votes can't be bought, and that the person whose name is on the form really filled it out. As it stands, there's nothing to keep a voter from selling his ballot--allowing someone else to complete it while the real voter simply signs his John Henry.

Men are not angels, alas, and all-access absentee ballots can open the door to temptation. In a recent primary election in Kentucky, for instance, a beautician and a trucker--both in professions that demand good eyesight--got absentee ballots by claiming they were blind. Criminal charges have been filed in other states after absentee voters admitted they got cash, concert tickets, or other goodies in exchange for letting someone else "help" fill out their ballots.

Virginians are not immune, either. Former gubernatorial candidate Jerry Kilgore's mother, a Scott County registrar, was accused of allowing unqualified absentee voters to wreak havoc in a local election in 2004. Gate City's Mayor Mark Jenkins says candidates have long hit up nursing homes and low-income neighborhoods, trolling for potentially malleable absentee votes.

Until we can better ensure the integrity of absentee ballots, the General Assembly should decline to expand their availability. House Speaker Bill Howell agrees: "We need to be careful," he said. "The sanctity of voting is too important." Amen.

Bottom line? Nothing beats in-person voting and some real ID.

Date published: 2/22/2007