THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 31, 1996 TAG: 9603290177
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ELIZABETH THIEL, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines
Chesapeake residents are taking full advantage of a federal law that allows them to register to vote through the mail or while they're doing business at state government offices.
Less than a month after the law went into effect in Virginia, nearly 1,200 Chesapeake citizens have sent registration cards to the city voter registrar's office, said Registrar Virginia W. Garrett.
``People are taking advantage of this, and we are just delighted that they're doing so,'' Garrett said.
Garrett said she expects registrations to continue to climb, ``when people get used to getting these applications and the availability of the applications.''
In the past, citizens who wanted to vote had to register in person with a sworn elections official.
The federal ``motor voter'' law, passed by Congress in 1993, was designed to force states to make it easier for people to register to vote. Citizens can add their names to the rolls or update their registrations through the mail or while doing business at state departments of motor vehicles or other state agencies.
For the first time, citizens also can help each other register through the mail. Civic leagues and other interest groups can take piles of registration cards and distribute them to their members. Neighbors and family members can give each other cards.
Virginia's version of the federal law didn't go into effect until this month because Gov. George F. Allen opposed it, saying it was an unfunded mandate on state government. Allen was overruled in federal court.
Statewide, about 6,000 people have registered through the mail alone, as of Wednesday. The total number will not be known until local voter registrar offices verify the applications flooding their offices daily.
Nationally, the law has prompted a record 11.2 million Americans to either register or update their registrations in the past year.
Chesapeake's Garrett said she expects registrations to increase as the November election for president approaches.
She hopes the new law also will have a positive effect on voter turnout for local elections, including the May 7 balloting for mayor, three City Council seats and four School Board spots.
The deadline for registering to vote in the May election is April 8.
Citizens registering to vote for the first time also can practice the technique.
In each branch of the Chesapeake library, there is a voter demonstration machine that holds a sample ballot. Librarians can show prospective voters how to punch holes in the ballot next to the names of the candidates they wish to select.
``All they have to say is, `I'd like to see how this works,' '' Garrett said.
Garrett said she does not know how many people have used the demonstration ballots since February, when they were placed in the libraries. MEMO: Mail-in voter registration cards are available at each branch of the
Chesapeake library; city treasurer and commissioner of revenue main
offices at City Hall and satellite offices in South Norfolk and Western
Branch; the South Norfolk Health Center at 490 Liberty Street; and the
Northwest River Water Treatment Plant at 3550 South Battlefield Blvd.
Citizens also can register to vote at various state agencies, including
the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Health Department and Social
Services. For more information, call the Chesapeake Voter Registrar's
office, 547-6141. by CNB