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

DATE: TUESDAY, May 2, 1995                   TAG: 9505020132
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                  LENGTH: Medium

ALLEN URGED TO OK `MOTOR VOTER'

The so-called "motor voter" bill would bring Virginia into compliance with federal law by allowing residents to register to vote when they get a driver's license, apply for public assistance or visit other government offices.

In Georgia, 2,000 people joined the voting rolls on the first day the law went into effect this year, according to Yvette B. Ridley, a lobbyist for the American Association of Retired Persons.

"We ask Governor Allen to come up with a solid reason as to why ... he believes that Virginians should be denied easy access to voter registration," Ridley said.

Allen's spokesman said the groups' plea is unlikely to sway the governor before the Saturday deadline to act on legislation approved at last month's General Assembly veto session.

Allen has said the motor voter bill is an unfunded federal mandate that would cost Virginia taxpayers more than $2 million a year. He also has said that the bill, which requires states to allow registration by mail, would increase the chances for voter fraud.

Last month, state Attorney General Jim Gilmore mounted a legal challenge to the motor voter bill by joining a lawsuit filed by California.

"The National Voter Registration Act is an unprecedented and unwarranted federal interference in the orderly workings of Virginia's government," Gilmore wrote in a legal brief.

That constitutional argument fell flat Monday with members of five groups that held a state Capitol news conference. The groups - Urban League of Richmond, League of Women Voters, People for the American Way, Common Cause and American Association of Retired Persons - said the motor voter bill would help Virginia shed its reputation as a low voter participation state. About four of 10 eligible Virginians are not registered to vote.

"This is a disturbing statistic in a state dedicated to the principle of government by and for the people," said Lawrence S. Ottinger, senior attorney with People for the American Way. "Governor Allen should be leading, not blocking, efforts to get Virginians to the polls."

Ottinger said the "real" reason Republicans such as Allen oppose motor voter is that they fear most of the new voters will tend to support Democrats.

Ottinger said statistics from Florida show that the new registrants are equally divided among Republicans, Democrats and independents.