If you are a registered voter in the Commonwealth, you can only be eligible for early voting if you have a proven excuse. But Governor Tim Kaine, in one of his last acts in office, offered one for no-excuse absentee voting, reports the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
That would mean that registered voters would be allowed to vote in-person absentee up to 45 days before an election. Today, voters can be eligible to vote absentee if they qualify for certain criteria, including being out of town, disability or pregnancy.
Traditionally, bills for no-excuse voting are killed by the House in committee. But Kaine wanted to force an on-the-record vote when the General Assembly reconvenes today in Richmond to take action on Kaine’s vetoes and changes.
"We thought, let’s give it another try," Kaine told the Times-Dispatch. "That’s a bill that traditionally dies a quiet death early in the morning in a committee, and it would be nice to have it at least be exposed to the light of day, to have a recorded vote with everybody paying attention to it."