I applaud The Post for educating the public on Virginia’s new restrictions on voting [“450,000 in Va. may lack proper ID to vote,” Metro, Sept. 26].
The commonwealth’s Republican-controlled State Board of Elections compounded bad legislation with a draconian interpretation of the law. These regulations were adopted against the advice of the state attorney general’s office, which cited serious constitutional concerns.
The board also ignored the testimony of many individuals and groups that opposed the regulations. The Fairfax County Democratic Committee provided testimony demonstrating that the regulations made the requirements for proof of identity to vote more stringent than those required to obtain a driver’s license.
As The Post pointed out, in Fairfax County alone, more than 13,000 registered voters lack state driver’s licenses. Many of these voters have no other form of acceptable photo ID. Unless these people are made aware of the new requirement and arrange to obtain acceptable ID, they will be denied the right to vote in November.
The Fairfax County Democratic Committee has an aggressive education program to inform voters, but our resources can go only so far. Sadly, across Virginia, tens of thousands of people will be negatively affected by this law in November.
Sue Langley, Fairfax
The writer is chair of the Fairfax County Democratic Committee.
