
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, March 18, 1990                   TAG: 9003182504
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                 LENGTH: Short

NEW VOTER REGISTRATION WOULD MEAN ADAPTING

One of the most difficult tasks in implementing statewide voter registration would involve urban registrars who receive applications from rural voters, the secretary of the State Board of Elections said Friday.

Michael Brown said big-city registrars are accustomed to registering voters who have specific street addresses. Many rural voters, he said, have route and box numbers that make it more difficult to pinpoint exactly where they live.

Teaching urban registrars to get adequate information from rural voters is one of the problems that will face Brown and his staff if Gov. Douglas Wilder signs legislation to allow statewide registration.

The bill by Del. Marian Van Landingham, D-Alexandria, was approved 40-0 by the Senate and 74-22 by the House of Delegates. If signed, it would take effect July 1.

`If Wilder signs the bill, Brown said, "`we will prepare procedures for our registrars to follow. We should have adequate time to work everything out."

Brown said city registrars will have to learn to ask a lot of questions when they accept a registration application from a rural voter who doesn't have a specific street address.

"They're going to have to get enough information so the registrar in the rural area can put the voter in the proper precinct," Brown said.

Another problem Brown foresees is making registrars aware of local special elections so "they can get applications transferred in a timely fashion," Brown said.

by CNB