Apr 7th, 2021 4 min read
COMMENTARY BY
Election Law Reform Initiative and Senior Legal Fellow
Hans von Spakovsky is an authority on a wide range of issues including civil rights, civil justice, the First Amendment, immigration. Early voters line up outside of the Vienna Community Building to cast their ballots for the November 3 election, in Vienna, West Virginia, on October 21, 2020. STEPHEN ZENNER / AFP / Getty Images
Key Takeaways
The election reform bill simply clarifies that an applicant will be automatically registered unless she “affirmatively declines” to be registered.
In the liberal lexicon, removing ineligible voters including aliens who have violated the law by registering to vote in the first place is also voter suppression.
An election reform bill in West Virginia will help make some much-needed updates to the state’s voting system. But leftists’ oppose the bill for reasons that are out of touch with reality. Pictured: A West Virginian leaves the polls on May 8, 2018. (Photo: Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)
Commentary By
Hans von Spakovsky is a senior legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation, a former commissioner on the Federal Election Commission, and former counsel to the assistant attorney general for civil rights at the U.S. Department of Justice. He is a member of the board of the Public Interest Legal Foundation.
Staff writer
CHARLESTON A bill dealing with concerns raised by county clerks and making changes to West Virginia’s election laws received pushback Monday from progressive opponents who see the bill as voter disenfranchisement.
The House Judiciary Committee held a virtual public hearing on Senate Bill 565, relating generally to elections.
SB 565 shifts the window for voting early, moving the start time up from 13 days before Election Day to 17 days. It also ends early voting on the seventh day before Election Day instead of the third, eliminating the Friday and Saturday early voting days immediately before the Tuesday Election Day. That gives county clerks more time to prepare for Election Day.
For The Inter-Mountain
CHARLESTON A bill dealing with concerns raised by county clerks and making changes to West Virginia’s election laws received pushback Monday from progressive opponents who see the bill as voter disenfranchisement.
The House Judiciary Committee held a virtual public hearing Monday morning on Senate Bill 565, relating generally to elections.
SB 565 shifts the window for voting early, moving the start time up from 13 days before Election Day to 17 days. It also ends early voting on the seventh day before Election Day instead of the third, eliminating the Friday and Saturday early voting days immediately before the Tuesday Election Day. That gives county clerks more time to prepare for Election Day.
CHARLESTON A bill dealing with concerns raised by county clerks and making changes to West Virginia’s election laws received pushback Monday from progress