Virginia voting rights through the years: Climbing the accessibility ladder

Katelyn Waltemyer, Staunton News Leader
·4 min read

EDITOR'S NOTE: This page is part of a comprehensive guide to state Voting Rights across the US and in Puerto Rico.

It's election day, 2022.

You drive to your polling location, assuming you have a car, and present yourself to the official on site. They proceed to ask for your proof of payment for poll taxes from the previous three years, at $1.50 each. You then must complete a literacy test, where you demonstrate an accurate comprehension of Virginia's constitution. Upon completion of both these tasks, the official will determine if you are eligible to vote.

Oh wait, we meant election day in the early 1900s.

Barriers for Black voters, like poll taxes, immediately affected voter turnout in Virginia. Some "88,000 fewer voters took part in the 1905 gubernatorial election in comparison to the 1901 election," according to the Virginia Museum of History and Culture.

Virginia was among the last five states in the U.S. to remove poll taxes in 1966 − well after President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act into law.

And this is just a glimpse at the roadblocks Black Virginia residents have faced to vote.

Virginia voter rights have come a long way since. So, let's take a look at how the former capital of the Confederacy is doing with voting rights now.

Fast forward: How has voting in Virginia changed since 2020?

Since 2020, Virginia has passed several laws that increase voting accessibility and voter rights.

Chief Communications Officer for Virginia's ACLU Edith Bullard said she saw Virginia pass some of the most progressive voting measures in the South in 2020.

Before Gov. Ralph Northam (D) left office in January 2022, he and the General Assembly worked together to expand voting accessibility. Here are some things that were accomplished in 2020 and 2021.

  • No-excuse absentee voting

Just months before the Presidential election of 2020, Virginians gained access to no-excuse absentee voting. Now any registered voter can vote early — in person or by mail. Registered voters can cast their ballots up to 45 days before the election until the Saturday before Election Day.

Absentee voting skyrocketed from 567,000 in 2016 to 2.6 million in 2020, according to the Department of Elections.

If you are applying for, replacing or renewing your Virginia driver's license and are 17 or older, the DMV now asks if you would like to send your updated information to the Department of Elections. If you aren't already registered to vote, the Department of Elections will send your information to the appropriate registrar's office.

Virginia is one of 22 states, plus the District of Columbia, that have enacted automatic voter registration.

  • Removing the voter ID law

There are several forms of acceptable ID to present before casting a ballot. If you don't have an accepted ID, you simply fill out an ID Confirmation Statement that documents you swearing you are who you say you are. If found to be false, the individual will be subject to Class 5 felony charges.

  • Making Election Day a holiday

Election Day became a holiday in 2020, with the hopes of drawing more voters out. Voter turnout increased three percentage points from the 2016 presidential election to 2020 with 3.9 million and 4.4 million votes casted, respectively.

  • Implementation of Virginia Voting Rights Act

The Voting Rights Act prohibits "any state or local policy from denying or restricting the right to vote of any Virginian simply because of their race, color, or membership in a language minority group," according to a March 31, 2021 release from Northam. It also requires local election officials to provide materials in foreign languages "as needed."

Virginia is the first state to enact its own version of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

Virginia voting rights moving forward

Bullard with Virginia's ACLU said there has been a major shift in voting rights legislation since the November 2021 gubernatorial election.

"Unfortunately, this past legislative session we saw a wave of anti-voter measures introduced — many of which disproportionately disenfranchise Black and Brown voters," Bullard said in an email. "We should all be concerned for the 2023 Legislative Session and watch out for any rollbacks to the progress that Virginia has made in the past couple of years."

One of Gov. Glenn Youngkin's (R) campaign points was focusing on election integrity by restoring photo ID laws and making it "easy to vote and hard to cheat," according to his campaign website.

Shortly after Youngkin took office, Democrats shot down the governor-supported election reform bill that would have required photo ID for Virginians to vote. The Right to Vote Amendment, which would have automatically restored the rights of 250,000 formerly incarcerated Virginians, died in committee.

Overall, Virginia has vastly increased voter accessibility over the past six years. According to a Northern Illinois University study, Virginia was ranked as the 12th easiest state to vote in for the 2020 election, compared to 2016 when the state was in 49th place.

Bullard isn't sure how much longer Virginia will be seen as a voter-friendly state.

"At this time, it is unclear if Virginia is headed in a direction that continues to protect voting rights for American citizens."

This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Virginia voting rights through the years shows accessibility increases