Voter registration; verification of social security numbers, provisional registration status. (SB1038)

Introduced By

Sen. Mark Peake (R-Lynchburg) with support from co-patron Sen. Ben Chafin (R-Lebanon)

Progress

Introduced
Passed Committee
Passed House
Passed Senate
Signed by Governor
Became Law

Description

Voter registration; verification of social security numbers; provisional registration status. Requires the general registrars to verify that the name, date of birth, and social security number provided by an applicant on the voter registration application match the information on file in the Social Security Administration database or other database approved by the State Board of Elections (State Board) before registering such applicant. If the information provided by the applicant does not match the information in such a database, the applicant (i) is provisionally registered to vote and notified as to what steps are needed to be fully registered to vote and (ii) is permitted to vote by provisional ballot, but such ballot shall not be counted until the voter presents certain information. The bill also requires the general registrars to verify annually no later than August 1 that the name, date of birth, and social security number in the registration record of each registered voter in the registrar's jurisdiction match the information on file with the Social Security Administration or other database approved by the State Board and, in accordance with current law, to initiate the cancellation of the registration of any voter whose registration record information does not match the database information. The State Board is authorized to approve the use of any government database to the extent required to enable each general registrar to carry out the provisions of this measure and to promulgate rules for the use of such database. The Department of Elections is required to provide to the general registrars access to the Social Security Administration database and any other database approved by the State Board. The Department of Elections is further required to enter into any agreement with any federal or state agency to facilitate such access. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2021. Read the Bill »

Outcome

Bill Has Failed

History

DateAction
11/15/2018Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/09/19 19100267D
11/15/2018Referred to Committee on Privileges and Elections
01/15/2019Impact statement from DPB (SB1038)
01/15/2019Reported from Privileges and Elections (9-Y 5-N) (see vote tally)
01/15/2019Rereferred to Finance
01/23/2019Reported from Finance with amendment (11-Y 5-N) (see vote tally)
01/24/2019Constitutional reading dispensed (40-Y 0-N) (see vote tally)
01/25/2019Read second time
01/25/2019Reading of amendment waived
01/25/2019Committee amendment agreed to
01/25/2019Engrossed by Senate as amended SB1038E
01/25/2019Printed as engrossed 19100267D-E
01/28/2019Read third time and passed Senate (20-Y 18-N) (see vote tally)
01/30/2019Placed on Calendar
01/30/2019Read first time
01/30/2019Referred to Committee on Privileges and Elections
02/04/2019Assigned P & E sub: Subcommittee #1
02/11/2019Impact statement from DPB (SB1038E)
02/12/2019Subcommittee recommends reporting (4-Y 2-N)
02/12/2019Subcommittee recommends referring to Committee on Appropriations
02/15/2019Reported from Privileges and Elections (12-Y 10-N) (see vote tally)
02/15/2019Referred to Committee on Appropriations
02/15/2019Assigned App. sub: General Government & Capital Outlay
02/18/2019House subcommittee amendments and substitutes offered
02/18/2019Subcommittee recommends reporting (5-Y 1-N)
02/18/2019Reported from Appropriations with amendment (12-Y 10-N) (see vote tally)
02/19/2019Read second time
02/20/2019Read third time
02/20/2019Committee amendment agreed to
02/20/2019Engrossed by House as amended
02/20/2019Passed House with amendment (51-Y 49-N)
02/20/2019VOTE: PASSAGE (51-Y 49-N) (see vote tally)
02/21/2019House amendment rejected by Senate (3-Y 36-N) (see vote tally)
02/21/2019House insisted on amendment
02/21/2019House requested conference committee
02/21/2019Senate acceded to request (39-Y 0-N) (see vote tally)
02/21/2019Conferees appointed by Senate
02/21/2019Senators: Peake, Suetterlein, Spruill
02/21/2019Conferees appointed by House
02/21/2019Delegates: Knight, Austin, Krizek
02/22/2019C Amended by conference committee
02/22/2019Conference report agreed to by House (50-Y 49-N)
02/22/2019VOTE: ADOPTION (50-Y 49-N) (see vote tally)
02/23/2019Conference report rejected by Senate (19-Y 20-N) (see vote tally)
02/23/2019Reconsideration of conference report agreed to by Senate (39-Y 0-N) (see vote tally)
02/23/2019Conference report agreed to by Senate (20-Y 19-N) (see vote tally)
03/07/2019Enrolled
03/07/2019Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB1038ER)
03/07/2019Signed by Speaker
03/08/2019Impact statement from DPB (SB1038ER)
03/09/2019Signed by President
03/11/2019Enrolled Bill Communicated to Governor on March 11, 2019
03/11/2019G Governor's Action Deadline Midnight, March 26, 2019
03/22/2019G Vetoed by Governor
04/03/2019Motion to pass in enrolled form rejected (22-Y 18-N) (see vote tally)
04/03/2019Requires 2/3 affirmative votes to pass in enrolled form

Comments

frank papcin writes:

why this wasn't already a law on the books, only shows how little certain people want honest voting in this country--- does the constitution state that only CITIZENS VOTE?-- well how do you prove that only citizens vote?-- by verifying that when they register UNLESS YOU DON'T CARE WHO VOTES
CITIZENS OR NOT? -- and it's only in committee? --WHY? what anti American is holding it up

Waldo Jaquith writes:

does the constitution state that only CITIZENS VOTE?

It does not. Everybody was free to vote in the U.S. — even non-citizens — for most of the nation's history, in 40 states. This wasn't an oversight — state constitutions deliberately included non-citizens, with Massachusetts going so far as to add a stanza "to remove all doubts concerning the meaning of the word 'inhabitant'," to make clear that they didn't require citizenship, but merely residency. States started to change that in the early 1900s. Non-citizen voting was only made illegal by the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996.

The Founding Fathers had no interest in restricting voting to citizens. That's a modern invention.