THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, May 2, 1995 TAG: 9505020308
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DAVID M. POOLE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium: 57 lines
Several citizen groups on Monday asked Gov. George F. Allen to reconsider his plan to veto legislation that would make voter registration more convenient.
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, some 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 Gov. 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 Republican chief executive before Saturday's 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 James S. Gilmore III 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 press conference: the Urban League of Richmond, the League of Women Voters, People for the American Way, Common Cause and AARP.
The groups said the motor voter bill would help Virginia shed its reputation as a low voter participation state; some 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 the People for the American Way. ``Gov. Allen should be leading, not blocking, efforts to get Virginians to the polls.''
Ottinger said the ``real'' reason that Republicans like 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.
KEYWORDS: VOTER REGISTRATION DIVISION OF MOTOR VEHICLES PROPOSED BILL
LEGISLATION
by CNB