Virginia Regulatory Town Hall View Comments

Department of Elections

State Board of Elections

Absentee Voting [1 VAC 20 ‑ 70]

Chapter is Exempt from Article 2 of the Administrative Process Act

Action	Material omissions from absentee ballots.
Stage	Final
Comment Period	Ended on 10/12/2011

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10/10/11 1:23 pm

Commenter: Reiko Schwab

reiko23452@yahoo.com

I have just learned that there is a move to make it difficult for voters in Virginia to have their vote counted through newly proposed legislation that will reject poor signatures on their ballots. Those people who write poorly are likely to include people who are sick, disabled, and elderly. I know, through my own experiences of teaching for about 35 years, having helped to take care of elderly family members, and having had sick friends, how some individuals, young and old, find it hard to write well. I have seen some people who were without eyesight or whose eyesight had deteriorated to the point of not being able to write their own name well and who had trouble writing because their hands were so unsteady due to injury or illness. Some were paralyzed on one side of their body due to a stroke and were using the hand which they hadn’t used to write before. Nowadays I myself find it hard to use my right hand to write due to problems with my hand (according to a specialist, I have either arthritis or tendinitis or both).

Rejecting ballots based on the quality of handwriting is to reject voters who are mentally able but physically challenged. This would constitute an outright violation of constitutional rights in America.

CommentID: 20264