Hank Silverberg, wtop.com
WASHINGTON – Voters going to the polls in Virginia will need to show identification or they will be turned away in November.
Virginia’s voter identification law passed muster with the Voting Rights Act even as some others failed.
A voter identification law in Pennsylvania failed a review by the U.S. Justice Department because it required a photo identification. But in Virginia, a voter can produce other forms of identification that have his name and address, such as a utility bill, bank statement, government check or paycheck.
In the past, voters without identification would be allowed to cast a ballot once they swore under threat of perjury they were who they claimed.
The American Civil Liberties Union says while the new law closes some loopholes, it could still intimidate some voters.
“We’ll be monitoring the implementation of the law to ascertain whether the law has an adverse impact on the working poor, minorities, among the elderly, on the disabled,” says Virginia ACLU Director Claire Guthrie Gasta
