Expired but otherwise valid photo IDs should be accepted for voting. Virginia recently spent millions to issue new voter ID cards. Why spend more to issue a new photo ID to registered voters who have only an expired photo ID? The government issued photo ID won’t have an expiration date, so an expiration date should be irrelevant for other photo IDs. It is an undue burden on the elderly and disabled to replace an expired photo ID.

Studies show that voter ID is virtually nonexistent. Photo ID requirements lead to unnecessary state and voter expense and voter disenfranchisement. Some say the elderly can avoid showing a photo ID by voting by mailed absentee ballot, but the voter must meet legal requirements to vote absentee. Virginia law does not allow absentee voting by attaining a certain age, nor does it allow open, requirement-free absentee voting for registered voters in general.