Kathy Stewart, wtop.com
WASHINGTON – In Virginia, the documents that residents are allowed to use as forms of voter identification may change soon.
Delegate Mark Cole, who represents the 88th District in the Fredericksburg area, is introducing a new voter identification bill during this year’s Virginia General Assembly session.
“It would simply remove bank statements, utility bills and paychecks from the list of what’s acceptable voter ID,” says Cole, who added that those items are not a valid source of identification in most other instances.
Cole says residents still can use any government issued ID, social security card or voter registration card for voting purposes.
For now, Cole is calling his bill the Vote ID Bill.
“I almost want to call it the Moran Bill, because that’s what it is in response to,” says Cole.
In October 2012, the son of Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) was caught on video by a conservative organization as he discussed a plan to cast fraudulent ballots by forging utility bills.
Cole says items like those should not have been placed in the original voter ID bill. Because there is no standard format for utility bills, pay checks and bank statements, forgeries are harder to spot, Cole says.
He says he thinks his bill might make it through the House of Delegates, but he is unsure about the state’s Senate at this point.
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