Republican voting bills stall in Senate committee

RICHMOND, Va. (WDBJ) - Voting bills approved in the House of Delegates earlier this year stalled Tuesday in a Senate Committee.

The bills included Photo ID requirements, restrictions on absentee ballots and a measure that would have reduced early voting from 45 days to two weeks.

Clara Belle Wheeler is a former member of the State Board of Elections.

“The trickle comes along, comes along, comes along, and then two weeks before the election the bar goes whoosh,” Wheeler said of the early voting. “I mean it’s an impressive graph. For two weeks, that’s when the vast majority of Virginians vote.”

That bill and several others were “passed by indefinitely,” making it highly unlikely any of them will advance in the General Assembly this year.

Republicans said the measures are needed to ensure the integrity of Virginia elections. Democrats said they are designed to suppress turnout.

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