Special Session 2020: Making Voting Safe

Monday, August 31, 2020

Dear Friend,

I hope you are staying safe and finding ways to adjust to our new reality. The second week of the special session brought some well needed progress. Highlights of the session are noted below: 

Drop Boxes and Funding for Elections - I have received many emails, as did other lawmakers, from constituents concerned about the public health hazards associated with operating the November 3rd election in the usual manner. This fear, coupled with the fact that the Postmaster General publicly announced there is no guarantee that all ballots will be delivered by the required election deadlines, propelled the Democratic majorities in the General Assembly to take some swift and necessary steps.

I am delighted to say that both chambers passed amendments to the budget that will authorize and allocate funding to facilitate early voting either by person, by mail, or by the use of a drop box. Hopefully, voter outreach materials and absentee ballot documents will contain notices that ballots need to be mailed back early. If you vote by mail, I encourage you to return your ballot as soon as possible. I believe that ballots expected to be delivered through the USPS should be placed in the mail at least 10 days before the election. Click here for information about early in-person voting opportunities.

Regarding drop boxes, there is language in the appropriations bill authorizing registrars to place secure drop boxes in areas where cameras and other safety measures can be implemented. The Board of Elections will be issuing regulations on how to comply with the required high standards related to ballot custody and security. Yet, even with these assurances, our Republican friends could not support the drop box measure. We kept hearing speeches that a third party who drops off a ballot for a voter unable to get to a drop box would be likely to tamper with the ballot or there would be mass “harvesting of votes.” Of course, this rationale would also apply if a third party mails a ballot for a friend, now, and we have offered a mail-in absentee ballot experience for years. Moreover, there has never been any evidence of wide spread fraud by voters, regardless of how they have chosen to vote. In fact, the Washington Post on Dec 1, 2016 noted that 135 million votes were counted in the 2016 presidential election, yet, there were only 4 cases of voter fraud. I am a strong advocate for the drop boxes.

I think you would agree, Virginians should not be forced to compromise their health or the health of their loved ones in an effort to exercise their constitutional right to vote. It is worth noting that the drop boxes are only authorized for the November 2020 election.

Felony Charges Related to Assaults on Law Enforcement - This topic has engendered much attention because those opposed to needed reforms in policing have misconstrued the changes that the Senate recently passed.

First let me say that a felony charge for assaulting a law enforcement officer will still be the law, under SB5032. The changes made by SB5032, sponsored by Senator Surovell, myself, and others, allows a judge or jury to consider all of the circumstances involved in an alleged assault incident with a police officer before choosing to convict for a felony charge. The circumstances specified to be considered would not be considered under current law. Examples of such considerations would be the alleged offender’s diminished mental and physical capacity or a lack of understanding of the situation and nature of the assault.

There have been many cases where individuals who are autistic or dealing with disabilities have unintentionally reacted negatively with a police officer. Such reactions have included such minor things as throwing an onion ring at an officer or slightly touching an officer to regain personal space, nonetheless the offender has received an automatic felony conviction. I believe those situations should be treated differently by our courts than when someone intentionally causes bodily injury to a police officer.

A felony is a serious charge that can have lifelong results for an individual who is convicted. This bill maintains strong penalties for those who would intentionally harm our law enforcement officers, while allowing our courts some discretion in determining culpability. I would hope you could agree that using some judgement before a felony charge is applied brings a much needed element of fairness to the judicial process.

Patient Visitation Policies for Nursing Homes and Hospices (SB5042) - This is a bi-partisan bill sponsored by Senator Jennifer Kiggans (R), a nurse practitioner from Virginia Beach, myself, and others to address the issue of patient contact with loved ones during a public health emergency. Essentially, the bill requires facilities to establish a protocol that allows each patient the opportunity to receive visits, either in-person or virtually, consistent with guidance from CDC and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. We all know that it is vital to a patient’s overall health to have contact with family members who can monitor their physical and emotional well-being. Constituents and concerned family members brought the need for this bill to my attention, and it is one of the most meaningful COVID related pieces of legislation that has passed during session. 

Possession of Marijuana and Certain Traffic Violations - The Senate passed a bill (SB5029) that changes certain primary driving offenses to secondary offenses. The offenses related to the operation of a vehicle that are downgraded to secondary offenses are operating a vehicle with no light illuminating a license plate, excessive or unusual levels of exhaust system noise, use of certain sun-shading materials and tinting films, and certain objects suspended in the vehicle. A secondary offense is one for which a summons can only be issued if the offender is stopped for another, separate offense.

The bill also provides that no law enforcement officer may lawfully search or seize any person, place, or thing solely on the basis of the odor of marijuana, and no evidence discovered or obtained as a result of such unlawful search or seizure shall be admissible in any trial, hearing, or other proceeding. Under bi-partisan legislation signed by Governor Ralph Northam in May, possession of up to an ounce of marijuana is now a civil infraction and punishable with a $25.00 fine.

Passage of SB5029 was the result of the Senate Democrats’ laser focus on criminal justice reform. It is important to note that according to the American Civil Liberties Union, marijuana arrests now account for over half of all drug arrests in the United States. Of the 8.2 million marijuana arrests between 2001 and 2010, 88% were for simply having marijuana. Moreover, the arrest data revealed one consistent trend: significant racial bias. Despite roughly equal usage rates, Blacks are 3.73 times more likely than whites to be arrested for marijuana.

In an effort to chip away at the racial bias in policing, the Legislative Black Caucus and other advocacy groups asked lawmakers to reform laws regarding why individuals can be stopped when operating a motor vehicle. Most encounters with law enforcement occur with the operation of a motor vehicle. I believe that our legislative changes will make a positive difference in reducing the number of times Black people are stopped while they are driving.

As always, thank you for your on-going support and encouragement. If you can make a donation to help me continue the work we care so much about, please go this link. Any amount would be appreciated.

Stay safe we are in this together.

Sincerely,