THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, March 30, 1995 TAG: 9503300405
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: NEWPORT NEWS DAILY PRESS
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Short : 31 lines
Virginia will join a court challenge to the federal ``motor voter'' law because Washington may be exceeding its authority in telling states how to register people to vote, Attorney General James S. Gilmore III said Wednesday.
Gilmore confirmed plans to file a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of California's effort to overturn the motor voter law, which allows residents to register by mail or when renewing their drivers licenses or applying for government services.
The decision means Virginia will join at least five states hoping to uproot the new federal law, which is designed to place an estimated 65 million unregistered Americans on the voting rolls.
The General Assembly passed a bill last month that would implement the federal law in Virginia, but Gov. George Allen offered an amendment this week to delay the motor voter law for at least a year and require another vote by the legislature. The assembly will vote on the amendment Wednesday.
KEYWORDS: VOTER REGISTRATION MOTOR VOTER by CNB