I oppose SB 813. It is an effort to enshrine and saddle Virginia with a version of the poorly worded and much litigated section of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA). This bill fails to provide a definition of systematic or identify which process in the Virginia Election Code qualify as systematic: “… any program the purpose of which is to systematically remove…”. Were this a genuine attempt to protect both voters and election integrity, it would identify, specifically by code and section, which election processes qualify as systematic and are thereby subject to the proposed 90 day restriction. It would also require all future legislation restricted as systematic to be so identified at the time of passage. This would allow for honest debate prior to passage as to the merits of the restriction rather than leave open a door for litigation after passage, further eroding trust in Virginia’s elections. Murky and ideologically driven legislation is not in the best interest of electorate and should be dismissed out of hand by legislators who have taken an oath to represent the people of the Commonwealth of Virginia. I urge a no vote on SB 813.

VSC NAACP supports SB813.

Committee members, writing on behalf of Virginia Institute Action, I encourage you to vote no on SB813 which would interrupt the processes that keep Virginia’s registered voter list consistently updated to reflect individuals that have moved, as well as other updates. The current processes need refinement but this change would take voter list maintenance in the wrong direction, not a step forward in the right direction. Any problems that exist with voter list maintenance processes have stemmed from inaccurate data, not the timing of the voter list maintenance processes. Because of Virginia’s many elections this bill goes too far in limiting the amount of time available to perform important systematic processes that keep Virginia’s voter roll accurate and current, as required by federal law. Please vote no on SB813, thank you!

This bill was inspired by the incorrect voter purge of naturalized citizens. We are grateful the patron Senator Rouse for his leadership. The Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights supports this bill, and urges the committee to vote yes.

SB813 I oppose this bill. Voter Rolls should be current, up to date and accurate. An accurate Voter roll saves money for elections and for the campaigns. Only eligible voters should be on Virginia Voter lists and the General Registrars need more time to be allowed to remove ineligible Voters. Non-Citizens should not have more opportunity to remain on the voter rolls. Currently, they are notified twice by the GR. The first letter is to verify if they are a citizen, with 14 days to respond and then after 30 days a cancelation letter is sent. If the voter truly is eligible to vote, they have a month to contact the Election Office. This current process is working well. Let General Registrars do their job. Do not expand the period that ineligible voters are prohibited from being removed from the Voter Rolls.

The League supports SB 813, as passed by the Senate. The bill provides for a 90-day quiet period before Virginia elections, when the state cannot conduct systematic voter purges. It parallels the federal law requiring a 90-day quiet period leading up to federal elections. The bill also recognizes that the mail delivery service is not reliable, so voters need twice the time to receive and respond to notices of impending cancellation.