The Election Administration Subcommittee advanced four bills — covering private grant funding for elections, electoral board member ID badges, firearms near polling places, and registrar removal procedures — while leaving the outcome of a super precinct pilot program bill unclear after adopting a substitute.
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Delegate Cherry argued that the 100-foot prohibition could ensnare someone with a firearm in their car driving through a parking lot, stating it is physically impossible to drive near the Colonial Heights early polling place without being within 100 feet of the building, and that 'having it about your person, which may include being in your car' was the reason he was not supporting the bill. Delegate Shin countered that the two uses of 'knowingly' in the bill address that concern, stating that if a person left a firearm in their car or was driving through without intent to enter the polling place, the bill was not intended to catch them up in that.
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“Under current Virginia law, local election officials are prohibited from accepting private or philanthropic funding for election administration. As a result, when federal funding is unavailable or insufficient, they have no ability to seek alternative resources, even when those resources could help address critical needs.”
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Sign in to subscribeCall this meeting to order as we get another one of those varsity days for. For the public. Just so you know, we are waiting to get a quorum. So until we get a quorum, which I believe will be five, we the committee will be at ease. I call this subcommittee meeting for privileges and elections Elections administration to order. The clerk will open the roll so members can take their attend. The clerk will close the rolls and we do have a quorum. We have five bills on the docket today and it looks like we got a patron ready to go. Delegate Krisic, you hear I said that? Krisic. With House Bill639, you have the floor. Madam Chair, you can call me whatever you want as long as you call me first. House Bill 639 creates a narrow exception to current code to allow localities to accept some grant funding for election administration with prior approval from the governing body or the state board of elections. As you all know, our local registrars, election administrators, the work they do has grown more complex in recent years. And they've got to navigate an increasingly intricate web of state…
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