Mary Margaret Whipple represents the 31st District in the Virginia State Senate
I was pleased, at the start of the 2004 session of the General Assembly, to be re-appointed to the Committee on Privileges and Elections. I had served on this Committee during my first term in the Senate but gave up my seat to Senator Leslie Byrne on her election in 1999. The term “Privileges and Elections” sounds rather old-fashioned and indeed the idea for such a committee was proposed at the earliest meeting of the House of Burgesses in Jamestown in 1619.
The Burgesses decided that their assembly would be the sole judge of its procedures and membership. The Privileges and Elections Committee became the vehicle to protect the “rights and privileges“ of members by scrutinizing elections and the qualifications of voters, monitoring the ethics and behavior of Assembly members and punishing those who did not meet the high standards of integrity set by the Burgesses.
Today the fifteen members of the Senate P & E Committee still consider matters concerning voting; apportionment; constitutional amendments; elections; elected officeholders; reprimand, censure or expulsion of a Senator; and nominations and appointments to any office or position in the Commonwealth except Judges and Justices.
This week the Committee considered all the gubernatorial appointments that Governor Warner has made since the close of the 2003 Session. I was pleased to see that several citizens of Falls Church have been appointed to boards and commissions and extend my congratulations and thanks for their willingness to serve the Commonwealth.
However, the Privileges and Elections Committee spends less time on “privileges” and more on elections.
This week’s agenda for election law includes bills that would require primaries for nominating statewide candidates; political party designation on ballots; allow on-line applications for absentee ballots; ratify the Equal Rights Amendment; and revise campaign finance disclosure rules.
Three of my bills have been referred to P&E.
The first is an “agency bill” that the State Board of Elections has asked me to patron. It incorporates provisions of the federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA) into the Virginia Code. Changes apply primarily to registration and absentee ballots for military and other overseas voters. The bill was adopted unanimously by the Committee this week and will soon be voted on by the Senate.
Electronic voting machines have engendered concern among some voters. They want to verify that their votes have actually been cast as they intended. My bill would call for a paper printout that could be verified by the voter. However, the registrars are very opposed to such a provision, arguing that it could lead to more problems and opportunities for mischief. The bill has been modified to require that the voter will see a summary page before finally casting the vote.
The final bill is a Governor’s bill calling for a redistricting commission to determine electoral districts when the next Census is taken. I doubt that this bill will get out of committee, but it would be the right way to approach this issue.
My thanks to Jean Barton for sharing her research on the early history of the P&E Committee with me.
