Election Day questions answered

Nelson Graves
Published: October 22, 2008

With all the interest in voting this year, I was pleased to see Bob Stuart’s recent piece on voting in The News Virginian (“Virginia’s voter registration sees high numbers,” Sept. 18). While his report answered a number of questions it also triggered others.

When the subject is voting, Virginia Code is the official rule book. Voting as well as all laws and regulations are passed and enacted by the Virginia General Assembly. Space does not permit me to mention all or even most of the voting laws in the code but I’ll try to cover some that may be of interest.

As mentioned in Stuart’s story, the registration deadline was Oct. 6 to be eligible to vote Nov. 4 in the general election. Since Stuart’s piece appeared, Virginia’s Electoral Board have met and clarified an already existing dress code.

In essence the state Board of Elections met Oct. 14 and clarified or emphasized its ruling. The ruling bans clothing, hats, buttons or anything else that urges people to vote for or against a candidate or issue.

Many supporters of Barack Obama believe the election board’s decision was prompted by Republican John McCain’s campaign to suppress or intimidate Obama supporters and voters. The board responded that its action was not in response to either party.

Other questions that I was curious about revolved around absentee voting, such as what restrictions are there, who’s allowed to vote by absentee ballot, when eligible absentee voters may actually cast their votes and where.

I visited Waynesboro’s Registrar Mary Alice Downs to obtain answers. Here are a few questions and answers from that visit.

Q: What allows a person to vote by absentee ballot?

A: If a voter is physically handicapped and there’s a chance of inclement weather; has a hospital stay scheduled for the day of the election; is a member of the armed forces; is incarcerated but not yet convicted (and registered of course); is scheduled to be working out of jurisdiction on Election Day for 11 or more hours;

Q: Can people vote by absentee ballot to avoid long lines?

A: The elections board still requires valid reasons as listed in the Virginia Code. Downs wrote in an e-mail: “Virginia does NOT HAVE EARLY VOTING. We are inundated with calls about that right now. The phone is ringing off the wall. Absentee [voting] for reason only can be done now, but not early voting because people might not want to stand in line.”

Q: Does a physically handicapped voter have to actually enter polling facility to cast ballot?

A: No, curbside voting is allowed. Polling supervisor must be notified [regarding what the] voter desires to do.

Q: If an absentee voter casts his or her ballot but dies before Election Day, does the vote count?

A: Yes. In the past, the vote wasn’t counted but the election board changed the rule after deciding that if a voter cast his vote but died on Election Day after leaving the polling place, his or her vote counted. So, in reality, there’s no difference.

In-person absentee voting ends at 5 p.m. Nov. 1, the Saturday preceding the election. Mail-in absentee votes must be received by 7 p.m. Nov. 4, Election Day.

These are only a small number of questions and answers from my talk with Downs. If you don’t see yours, please contact Downs at 942-6620.

And if you are registered, please VOTE!

Nelson Graves, Western Virginia director of the Virginia Minority Supplier Development Council, writes a weekly column for The News Virginian. E-mail him at .