• As proposed, the bill’s minimum impact will eliminate 6 months of time for updates due to the yearly June Primary and November General elections. • Many localities have additional special primary elections each year – a 90-day quiet period would further restrict a registrar from fulfilling their duty to maintain accurate voter rolls per federal requirement. • An additional 90-days would be eliminated during the years with a Presidential Primary o The National Change of Address (NCOA) updates are typically completed during January or February – the bill would prohibit this update in time for the Presidential Primary • This legislation severely restricts registrars’ responsibly to maintain accurate voter registration rolls, and increases costs for duplicate and unnecessary mailings, staff time, decreases election officers’ ability to run efficient precincts, adds to voter confusion when not notified of polling place locations. • Therefore I strongly oppose HB28.

I oppose HB51. By having elections in November we are hearing from a larger number of Voters (as opposed to elections being held during other odd months of the year). Democracy and representation is better supported when more people are having their say in who represents them and their locality. Further, keeping elections in November saves our localities money. HB51 will be an expensive detriment to Voters and localities! It costs our locality $15,000 when we hold locality only elections separate and apart from the November elections

The bill would permit workers to rewrite ballots that are not able to be read by the scan machine. This is extremely concerning for UOCAVA ballots that are not meant to be read by a scan machine. Strongly Oppose! As an Election Officer in the Central Absentee Precinct with years of hands-on experience - rewriting the UOCAVA and any other 'unreadable' ballot will take up a lot of additional time to process and report the results.

The bill would permit workers to rewrite ballots that are not able to be read by the scan machine. This is extremely concerning for UOCAVA ballots that are not meant to be read by a scan machine. Strongly Oppose! As an Election Officer in the Central Absentee Precinct with years of hands-on experience - rewriting the UOCAVA and any other 'unreadable' ballot will take up a lot of additional time to process and report the results.

Dear Members of the Virginia Legislative Committee, I am writing to express my opposition to HB 28, which mandates a regular periodic review of voter registration records. As a concerned citizen of Virginia with a deep interest in maintaining fair and accessible elections, I believe this bill introduces unnecessary barriers to voting and risks disenfranchising eligible voters. HB 28 requires the Department of Elections to conduct frequent reviews of voter rolls with the intent of removing individuals deemed ineligible. While the goal of ensuring accurate voter records is commendable, this legislation places an undue burden on local election officials by mandating reviews without providing adequate resources or clear guidelines for implementation. This could lead to inconsistent application across jurisdictions, resulting in confusion and potential errors in voter roll maintenance. Furthermore, the bill risks disproportionately affecting vulnerable populations, such as low-income individuals, the elderly, and those with limited access to documentation, who may struggle to verify their eligibility during these reviews. Such outcomes could undermine trust in our electoral system and suppress voter participation. As a Virginian who values the democratic process, I am particularly concerned about the impact of HB 28 on my community. Many of my neighbors and fellow citizens, including those who have recently moved or face economic challenges, may find themselves inadvertently removed from the rolls due to administrative oversights or inability to respond promptly to verification requests. I have witnessed firsthand how difficult it can be for some to navigate bureaucratic processes, and I fear this bill will exacerbate those challenges, effectively silencing voices that deserve to be heard on Election Day. Our state should prioritize policies that encourage participation, not create hurdles that could prevent law-abiding citizens from exercising their fundamental right to vote. I respectfully urge the committee to reconsider HB 28. While maintaining accurate voter records is important, this legislation risks disenfranchisement and places unnecessary strain on election officials without ensuring fair or equitable outcomes. Virginia deserves an electoral system that is both secure and accessible, and I believe HB 28 falls short of that standard. Thank you for considering my perspective and for your dedication to serving the Commonwealth. Sincerely, Deborah Wahlstrom

The bill sets up the local Electoral Board solely as a 'rubber stamp' entity. Oppose

I support HB78. I am a member of an electoral board. This bill will remove tension and chaos that individual members may try to subject the whole of a given board to. Thank you!

I support HB1321. This provides our office with the time we need to properly conduct primary elections. (And this compliments HB773 and HB774 allowing for their practical and successful implementation should those Bills pass)

Oppose HB774 - why are some voters given additional time to cure their ballot while other voters don't even have to provide the very same information and can cast their vote.

Strongly Oppose the bill - it unnecessarily prolongs registrar's ability to complete their election duties in a timely manner. Voters have 48 days to cure their absentee ballot if needed.

creates an added burden for electoral board members making it more difficult to find volunteers. Oppose.

opens the possibility of voter fraud by increasing the number of days from 6 to 10. Oppose.

Fair Elections Center SUPPORTS HB 28 because it prevents last minute mistakes and administrative errors from harming the voting rights of eligible people to vote in Virginia elections. These rules currently exist in federal law and are applied to federal elections in Virginia. These same principles of protecting eligible voters from last minute mistakes also apply in state elections.

I oppose HD1213. This is an effort to disenfranchise voters. These voters are already registered. They have already provided the additional info to our office at the time of registration. Their name is already in the pollbook.

opens the possibility of fraud when extending the number of days to count the ballots. Oppose.

I support this bill

HB51 - added burden to registrars and expenses to towns and counties. With the required 45 day voting season this bill would expand annual days of voting greater than 90 with each additional election. Oppose. HB773 - opens the possibility of fraud when extending the number of days to count the ballots. Oppose. HB 1213 - adds uniformity to each district in collecting voter information for vetting. Support HB1321 - opens the possibility of voter fraud by increasing the number of days from 6 to 10. Oppose. HB968 - Hand ballot counting should always be an option as machine malfunction or are tampered with. Oppose. HB78 - creates an added burden for electoral board members making it more difficult to find volunteers. Oppose.

For the vast majority of paper ballots the optical scanners are a viable method of tabulation. However, there are certain groups of ballots which could be hand-counted. In localities with only a few Provisional Ballots there is no need to certify a separate scanner for the small number of Provisional Ballots which could be hand-counted. The additional expense to the locality to have a separate scanner ready to count a small number of paper ballots is an unnecessary expense. The Electoral Board and Registrar should have the ability to make this choice for their locality. Vote "No" for HB.968

I was unable to sign on to speak for today's hearing. Due to the impassable sidewalks in route to the General Assembly, I am unable to be with you but will be watching remotely. I am Cindy Difranco with Principle Advantage representing Verified Voting. Verified Voting has authorized me to speak in support of HB 968 as it appears that this legislation would not impact manual examination of a ballot during a post election audit. We have previously stated, that Verified Voting does not support full hand counts at the onset. We would ask that ELECT confirm that as ballots sometimes are not readable by the machine due to how the ballot was marked, counting these limited instances would not be impacted by this bill.

There is no need to delay the completion of the material information on a Provisional Ballot. The Election Officer and the voter are tasked with reviewing the information BEFORE the Provisional Ballot is submitted. A voter who places a marked ballot into an optical scanner is not allowed to vote another ballot, so the person who marks a Provisional Ballot should not be allowed to re-do his Provisional ballot envelope. The certification of Provisional Ballots is time consuming without further delays. Vote "NO" on HB 774

Mistakes happen when completing forma. However, the voter must correct those mistakes which involve the material information on the security envelope containing the mailed back absentee ballot. The Registrar's Office must have adequate time to review the envelopes and contact the voter before the envelopes are sent to the Central Absentee Precinct to be counted. The vote must have adequate time to make the required corrections. Reducing the timely response by the Registrar and the Voter will be a disservice to both. Stopping the offer of CURE after Friday before the Election Day removes enough time to review and then notify the voter. Please vote "NO" on this bill.

As a former member of a County Electoral Board and Member of the State Board of Elections, I attest that it is the responsibility of every Electoral Board Member to review all of the election data for each election before voting to certify that election. If an Electoral Board Member is refused access to all of the data, that certification should be withheld. Specifically, if the Electoral Board Member is refused access to the Provisional Ballot Envelops and logs, the Electoral Board Member should not certify that election because important data has be unavailable. The Electoral Board Member can certify only that information which he or she has reviewed. Vote "NO" on this bill.

This bill provides a means of accurate record keeping for those who fail to provide an valid ID when voting in-person. Since each person who votes must be given "voting credit" for voting in the election of record, it is vital that the correct voter be given credit only when he or she actually votes. Due to the similarity of many names, providing only the name and no other identifying information may and does result in the wrong name being given voter credit when using only the name supplied by the voter. This use of a single item, a name, by the Officer of Election may and does result in errors. Additional information should be used to assure the voter that the correct voter is credited with voting. When the wrong name is marked as having voted, the correct voter will be required to complete a Provisional ballot when attempting to vote. This Provisional Ballot may fail to be accepted by the Electoral Board resulting in the correct voter being unable to vote because of a mistake whether intentional or accidental by another person. Please vote for HB1213 to assure that all eligible voters have their votes counted.

I support HB773 (together with an amendment to 24.2-532 lengthening the June Primary Canvas period to 10 days from 6 in order to allow for practical and successful implementation of HB773) I support HB774 (together with an amendment to 24.2-532 lengthening the June Primary Canvas period to 10 days from 6 in order to allow for practical and successful implementation of HB774)

HB 28 The League of Women Voters of Virginia supports the bill and thanks Delegate Henson for introducing HB 28. 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. It also protects voters by extending the time for our registrars to cancel the registration of voters deemed to be ineligible to vote and by allowing voters 28 days to respond to a notice of cancellation, which is double the amount of time they now have. Considering the unreliability of mail delivery, that is an important improvement to Virginia’s voter registration rules. HB 78 The League supports HB 78. Past experience shows that the law needs to be clarified. Local Electoral Boards’ post-election duties are prescribed in the Code of Virginia and further detailed in the official handbook for general registrars and electoral boards. Once these tasks are accomplished, the responsibility of certifying an election is not discretionary. The bill codifies this clarification. HB 968 The League thanks Chair Price for carrying HB 968, which is simply a prophylactic measure to ensure that machine-readable ballots are cast on ballot scanning machines. Machine tallies are far more accurate than humans at counting ballots. Using ballot scanners whenever the ballots are printed for that purpose will provide election results quickly and accurately. HB 1213 The League opposes HB 1213. The voters who affirm their identities declare, under penalty of law, that they are who they say they are. Requiring voters to provide additional personal data on their Voter ID Confirmation Statement would needlessly turn legitimate voters away from the ballot box. Thank you.

I am a precinct chief in Loudoun County. I wholeheartedly support this bill. This will decrease the potential for cheating to occur. THIS IS COMMON SENSE.

HB1213 is excellent. This bill should be signed. In lieu of physical identification, the ID confirmation statement should also require the voter's birth year and last 4 digits of their social security number.

Simply requiring a voter to document the last four digits of their SSN along with their birth date is VERY reasonable! Opposing such a thing would lead the public to wonder why.

I am strongly opposed to all changes in HB 28. This includes but is not limited to time restraint changes such as; increasing time limits on systematic removal of ineligible voters from voter registration and extending period of time registrars have to cancel registrations from 30-60 days

Please support HB1213, the common-sense bill that will bring Virginia voter ID requirements up to the standards of so many other states. HB1213 requires affirmation statement in lieu of identification to require information that will affirm that the voter is who they claim to be. Over 80% of all voters support voter ID and HB1213 should receive bipartisan support. Retaining the document, as required by this bill, and requiring the final four digits of the voter's Social Security Number are minimum security standards for this document.

This bill strengthens Virginia's voter identification safeguards while preserving access to the ballot for those who lack acceptable photo ID or other required documentation. Under current Virginia law, voters without an acceptable form of identification may cast their ballot by signing an **ID Confirmation Statement** (also referred to as an affirmation statement in lieu of identification). This provision ensures that no eligible voter is turned away due to missing ID, balancing security with inclusivity. However, the existing affirmation process relies primarily on the voter's signature and a basic affirmation of identity, which provides limited additional verification. This bill builds on that framework by requiring voters who use the affirmation statement—whether voting **absentee in person** or **at the polls on election day**—to provide: - Their **full name**, - **Year of birth**, - And the **last four digits of their Social Security number** (if they have one). These modest additions enable election officials to more effectively cross-check the voter's identity against registration records, helping to confirm that the person signing the statement matches a registered voter in the precinct or jurisdiction. The last four digits of the SSN serve as a widely used, non-intrusive identifier in many verification contexts (similar to banking, employment, and government services) without requiring disclosure of the full number, thereby protecting privacy. The bill also mandates that the completed form—containing both the affirmation statement and this supplemental voter information—be **retained as part of the official election materials**. This creates a clear, auditable paper trail that can support post-election reviews, audits, or investigations if questions arise about a specific ballot. By closing this small gap in the current system, the legislation enhances overall election integrity and public confidence in Virginia's voting process. It deters potential misuse or impersonation without imposing new barriers that would disenfranchise legitimate voters, as those who already possess acceptable ID are unaffected. This targeted, common-sense improvement aligns with broader efforts to secure elections while upholding Virginia's tradition of accessible voting. Support for this bill promotes trustworthy, verifiable elections that every Virginian can have faith in.

Please require that all Virginia voters provide an official form of ID at the time of voting. This is needed to drive, get on airplanes, hotel, and many other things less important. To show an ID that proves who you are and citizenship status is vital for the integrity of our elections. Anything less leads the public to believe there is fraud in our elections. Don’t let that happen. I don’t believe anyone should verbally vouch for friends, voter registration should happen prior to the election, and only US citizens in good standing should be given the privilege. Protect our elections in Virginia!

It is important that we have the ability to verify ballots by hand if necessary to verify election results. Machines break, have proven to be inaccurate, or can be questioned. Technology is great but never takes the place of real people. Virginians want to know that are election results are true and do not want to rely on machines only. Protect our elections!

Please do not move HB773 forward. By extending this deadline, you open Virginia up to fraud and harm the integrity of our elections. Can you imagine the number of people who will submit false ballots if they see Virginia is not electing the person of their choice in order to change election results? We need to protect the integrity of our elections and the will of Virginians.