This regulation makes it more difficult to vote in our Virginia. Once an absentee ballot is submitted by an authorized, duly registered voter, the voter cannot be certain that his or her vote will even be counted.  It is not, nor should it be, a condition of voting that each voter is able to understand the confusing instructions on a ballot.  If a ballot is received in the appropriate timeframe, the absence of a date or a missing middle initial, or some other minor registration misstep by a valid registered voter should not cause an election official to make a determination that nullifies a citizen's right to vote. 

Our democracy is based on the concept of one voter, one vote.  It is shameful to believe one has taken the time out of their busy schedule and is exercising his or her voice with our government when ballots cast by well-meaning citizens rights are struck by the increasingly close scrutiny required to determine whether their vote will be accepted.