A Democratic-led Virginia Senate committee on Tuesday rejected several Republican-proposed ballot measures and moved to suspend consideration of several constitutional amendments until the end of this year's session.
The Senate Privileges and Elections Committee voted without debate to carry forward the amendments announced with great fanfare after the November election, when Democrats maintained their Senate majority and reversed their representative majority.
The measure includes proposals to repeal the state's now-defunct ban on same-sex marriage, expand protections for access to abortion, and reform the state's civil rights restoration system for felons who have completed their sentences. It is included.
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Senate Democratic Leader Scott Surovell said in a text message that the amendment will carry over into the 2025 session, which is standard practice given that amendments are typically introduced in odd-numbered years. characterized as.
The move does not delay the timeline by which voters may consider the measure. A constitutional amendment bill must first pass both houses of the General Assembly within two years, during which time parliamentary elections will be held. House of Representatives meanwhile. These elections will take place in every two odd years of his life, so the earliest he can vote will be in 2026.
“I think what they wanted to do was get all these people on the record right before the (2025) election,” said Bob Holdsworth, a veteran political analyst.
The national flag waves on the roof of the state capitol in Richmond, Virginia, on February 26, 2011. On January 16, 2024, a Democratic-led Virginia Senate committee rejected a Republican-backed ballot measure. (AP Photo/Steve Herber, File)
A spokesperson for the House Democratic Caucus did not respond to questions about whether leadership plans to take similar action on the chamber's pending response.
The committee's move also continued a proposal by Sen. Mark Peek, a Lynchburg Republican, to bar anyone elected lieutenant governor or attorney general after 2029 from serving more than two terms until 2025.
McPike acknowledged that this provision would not apply to Democratic Sen. Jeremy McPike's proposed constitutional amendment that would expand tax credits for surviving spouses of fallen soldiers. The proposal was passed last year and could go to voters this fall if approved again by Congress.
The Senate committee then began considering and repealing several Republican-proposed voting rights bills, including one that would end same-day Election Day registration and shorten the state's long-standing early voting period. It was included.
“We firmly oppose and will fight relentlessly against any legislative efforts to undermine or restrict voting access in Virginia,” the Senate Democratic Caucus said in a joint statement after the hearing.
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Peek, the sponsor of the bill that would limit same-day registration, argued that the bill is a burden on registrars. He cited reports of large crowds in Blacksburg and Williamsburg, both areas that are home to universities, during the last election cycle.
The committee rejected another bill by Peake that would have limited absentee voting to 21 days instead of the current 45 days. Mr. Peek said his long absences are not on par with liberal states in other parts of the country and are a burden not only to registrars but also to campaigns monitoring and staffing the polls. he claimed.
The Virginia NAACP and the League of Women Voters of Virginia were among the groups that opposed the measure.
The committee also rejected a bill that would have required voters to show a photo ID to vote. The Virginia Democratic Party repealed the previous photo ID requirement in 2020.
