I object to the proposal to limit "valid" IDs to unexpired IDs for the purpose of voting. As many registrars and electoral board members have noted, as long as the voter resembles the photo on the ID, the purpose of the law has been fulfilled. There are other safeguards and procedures in place to deal with possible fraudulent voting.

The photo ID is only for identification and the fact that it has has expired is irrelevant for voting purposes. Expired passports are even accepted by the DMV for identification to obtain a driver's license. The proposed restriction will adversely affect certain groups such as the many older voters who use expired driver's licenses, military IDs or passports as their photo ID.

Retailers who verify idenfication for age-specific purposes or check-cashing/credeit card validation do not look at expiration dates on the IDs. Why should election officials be aked to provide this unnecessary scrutiny? Trying to find an expiration date or deciding what to do if an ID has no expiration date will waste time, resulting in long delays checking voters on election day and large numbers of provisional ballots to process after election day.

Finally, changing the regulations now will confuse voters and make it harder for them to ensure they have an acceptable photo ID. The SBE, local registrars, electoral boards, and civic and other community organizations have been preparing materialsl and educating voters about current requirements. Changing the rules now would undermine these efforts and be grossly unfair to Virginia's voters.

Retain the current (June 10) version of the regulation and allow the above entities to continue their efforts to explain the photo ID requirement to Virginia voters. Requiring a photo ID is already an unneccessary burden, an example of a solution without a problem. Please don't amplify the burden and increase confusion which may suppress voting--especially among seniors--by changing the definition of a "valid" photo ID for voting purposes.