VCC Spring 2021

V irginia C apitol C onnections , S pring 2021 12 Virginia is for Voters By Delegate Schuyler VanValkenburg The year 2020 was an historic one for the expansion and protection of voting rights in the Commonwealth. The new House Democratic Majority prioritized voter access during the 2020 Regular Legislative Session. We implemented same-day voter registration, established Election Day as a state holiday, and expanded the forms of acceptable voting ID to include certain non- photo IDs. We increased ballot accessibility for historically disenfranchised citizens, including people of color, low-income Virginians, young adults, and non-English-speaking citizens. Many of our 2020 Regular Session election bills, which passed before we understood the severe impact the COVID-19 pandemic would have on Virginia, proved to be essential tools during the November election by allowing voters to cast their ballots securely and in ways that protected public health. We made tremendous progress in 2020, however, going into the 2021 General Assembly session, it was clear there was still more we could do to shore up Virginia’s democracy by continuing to improve access and, just as importantly, protecting people’s voting rights. This session I introduced an omnibus bill containing dozens of enhancements to absentee voting. HB 1888 will codify pre-paid postage on envelopes to return absentee ballots, give authority for local electoral boards and registrars to designate drop-off locations (often called “drop boxes”), and establish the process for allowing absentee-by-mail voters to be informed about and “cure” errors to make their ballot countable. The bill also includes other technical changes that will improve access and clarity to voters about the election process by allowing voting returns to be accurately reported to the public more quickly. For example, localities will now have to count early in-person ballots before Election Day, rather than rush to count them all at once at the same time as they manage in-person voting. The omnibus improvements bill will help to make voting easier for everyone while simultaneously making voting more secure, transparent, and efficient. The 2020 election showed how important transparency and security are in the voting process. The clearer the process is to the public, the harder it is for people to cast doubt on a legitimate election outcome. Some of my General Assembly colleagues also passed critical pieces of legislation protecting and expanding the right to vote. For example, HB 1986, sponsored by Delegate Lamont Bagby, will give local election officials the ability to open their offices on Sundays during the 45-day early voting period preceding an election. On voting rights, Senator Jennifer McClellan and Delegate Marcia Price passed the Voting Rights Act of Virginia which would require all local elections administrators to receive public feedback or advance approval from the Office of the Attorney General for electoral changes like moving a voting precinct or registrar’s office as well as allows voters and the AG to sue over voter suppression. The Voting Rights Act of Virginia also prohibits any racial discrimination or intimidation related to voting. As the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., was known for saying: “Democracy is not a state, it is an act.” Virginia continues to be a nationwide leader in expanding ballot access and election law. In 2018, Virginia ranked the second hardest US state to vote in by a Northern Illinois University study. Two years later, we climbed 37 places in the ranking from49th to 12th easiest state inwhich to vote.As a high-school civics teacher, I’ve spent my entire career promoting democracy. It is an exciting time in our Commonwealth’s history to show the nation how to promote a democracy where all voices are heard. Delegate Schuyler VanValkenburg is a Democrat representing the 72nd District, which includes part of Henrico. Virginia abolishes the death penalty By Christina Amano Dolan Virginia will become the 23rd state to abolish the death penalty after two bills passed both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly on Monday. In a release issued earlier this month, Gov. Ralph Northam said he looks forward to signing a legislation that outlaws the death penalty. Under current state law, an offender convicted of a Class 1 felony who is at least 18 years of age at the time of the offense and without an intellectual disability faces a sentence of life imprisonment or death. The identical House and Senate bills eliminate death from the list of possible punishments for a Class 1 felony. The bills do not allow the possibility of parole, good conduct allowance or earned sentence credits. The measures will also reclassify capital murders to aggravated murders. The move will change the sentence for the two remaining inmates on death row to life imprisonment without eligibility of parole, good conduct allowance or earned sentence credits. House Bill 2263, introduced by Del. Mike Mullin, D-Newport News, passed the Senate Monday on a 22-16 vote following a lengthy floor debate. While both parties reached an agreement on eliminating the death penalty, Republicans argued for a proposed amendment to remove the possibility of a shortened life sentence. Under current state law, judges are able to suspend part of life sentences, with the exception of the murder of a law enforcement officer. Neither bill will change this policy. In Monday’s hearing, Sen. William Stanley, R-Franklin, argued for a floor substitute that would replace capital murder charges with a mandatory minimum life sentence. The government should not have the ability to sentence people to death due to the possibility of false convictions, but those who commit “heinous” crimes should never face the possibility of parole, he said. “If you kill multiple people, or under the circumstances under our death penalty statute, you should not see the light of day,” Stanley said. “You should not taste liberty and freedom again.” Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, who sponsored the Senate bill that passed the House, said adopting Stanley’s amendment would introduce 14 new mandatory minimum life sentences. “I think it’s awfully presumptuous for us to just decide that these 14 situations deserve this one and only punishment,” Surovell said. Sen. Joseph D. Morrissey, D-Richmond, furthered the argument against the amendment by mentioning a Washington Post article on the recent release of Joe Ligon at age 83. Ligon was sentenced to life imprisonment at 15 years old, pleading guilty under the impression that he would be eligible for parole 10 years later, Morrissey said. He was released from prison after serving 68 years. “That seems to be inconsistent,” Morrissey said, referring to Stanley’s argument that while juries can get it wrong, a convicted person sentenced to life imprisonment should never be able to seek parole. “If you get it wrong, and somebody is executed, you can also get it wrong when you sentence somebody to life in prison.” Judges currently have the authority to ensure life sentences and will have the same authority with the bill’s passage, Surovell said. The floor substitute by Stanley was rejected. Concluding the hearing, Surovell offered final remarks on the importance ofVirginia’s step to abolish the death penalty. He believes the new measure speaks to the commonwealth’s humility and value of human life. “It says a lot about how our commonwealth is going to move past some of our darkest moments in terms of how this punishment was applied and who it was applied to,” Surovell said. Continued on next page V