National Elections

All that changed prompted by Covid. Fear of waiting in lines resulted in changes that have raised concerns about how secure our elections are. 

Expanded mail-in ballots

What had once been infrequent voting by mail for those with special needs has now become commonplace. Now, one simply requests a mail-in ballot. At one time, a witness was required to certify that the person was who they said they were. Under Governor Northam, Virginia took it one step further by removing any identification of that witness. 

Drop-boxes

A new process for casting one’s vote was instituted, ‘drop-boxes.’ Communities were required to have these boxes in various locations so voters would not encounter others who might have been exposed to Covid. The problem is that some communities were less cautious about observing their boxes by camera or in person. Some observers taped individuals placing multiple ballots in the boxes. This raised the question of why those voters were not afraid to be in contact with ‘bundlers’ while being afraid to drop it in a mail slot. In most rural counties, we did it right! We put the required drop-boxes inside open buildings with folks nearby, such as in registrars’ offices.

Early voting 

Again, in response to Covid, it became fashionable to institute early voting with no real explanation as to why. Virginia, under the Democrats, chose to set six weeks for early voting. It was as if the month or two weeks were not a reasonable timeframe. 

Some states even allowed votes to be postmarked on Election Day as if people couldn’t go to the trouble of voting only for a day or two.

Virginia’s Elections

Again, Democrats began same-day registration. This allowed out-of-state college students to skip the careful review process if they were registered in two states. They removed the requirement that voters have positive proof of registration prior to voting, with stipulations. Likewise, they broke an agreement with other states requiring them to match for duplicate registrations.

Governor Youngkin has required the Department of Elections to reverse this double registration issue by matching death records and felon in-state and out-of-state registrations. 

We today have a safer election system than last year, but it remains up to each of us to be observant when things don’t look right and report any problems. 

My staff and I are always here to assist you with any issues or concerns. Please don't hesitate to reach out if we can be of service. You can reach us at 434.374.5129 or by email at [email protected]