10 Examples: Youngkin's Never Ending Voter Related "Snafus," Josh Cole Endorsed by WaPo, Roland Martin GOTV Events
➡️ Early voting in Virginia started on Sept. 22, 2023.
➡️ Senator Mamie Locke’s 20th Annual Sneaker Ball 👟 is in 6 days on Oct. 14.
➡️ You have until October 16, 2023 to register to vote.
➡️ Election Day 2023 is in 30 days on Nov. 7, 2023. Current breakdown Virginia Senate 22D-18R. Virginia House: 49R-46D.
Voting Problems Persist Under Youngkin
Since Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin took office in January 2022
there have been an endless series of stories on voter related problems in the Commonwealth of Virginia. There have also been few answers from Governor Glenn Youngkin or his Board of Elections Commissioner Susan Beals.
The latest “snafu” to be reported in the news was revealed this week. The Youngkin Administration admitted that hundreds of voters were removed from eligibility. Why? In July 2023, Youngkin began a push to encourage Republicans to vote early. But in the background, Virginia Republicans were targeting Black voting locations that were likely to hold Sunday voting events.
RELATED: Chesapeake, Va. City Council Removes Early Voting Location in Majority-Black Area
Below are ten examples of how the Youngkin Administration is seemingly always involved in voter related policy that is doing one of three things: 1. making it harder to vote, 2. removing voters from eligibility to vote or, 3. hiding policy related to voting.
🚩 In October 2023, The Washington Post reports that the Youngkin Administration admits they “mistakenly” removed 270 registered voters from the rolls — a number few believe is that low. Congressman Bobby Scott calls for a DOJ investigation. Read more.
🚩 In September 2023, it’s revealed that the Youngkin Administration removed 17,368 registered voters from the rolls in what the Virginia ACLU defined as an "unprecedented" move. Read more.
🚩 In August 2023, a Republican-led board voted 3-0 to eliminate Sunday voting used by Black churches for Souls to the Polls in Richmond. After backlash, they reversed the decision. But Republicans eliminated Sunday voting in other Black neighborhoods in Chesapeake and Virginia Beach. Read more.
🚩 In July 2023, after it became clear that the numbers of former felons getting their voting rights restored had plummeted, the Virginia NAACP asked the Youngkin Administration for details on what the rights restoration process is. They receive almost no answers. Read more.
🚩 In March 2023, Youngkin ended restoration of rights for ex-felons. The move made Virginia the only state in the nation that kills voting rights for everyone who commits a felony. Read more.
🚩 In May 2023, Gov. Youngkin decided to remove Virginia from the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) even though Virginia was a founding member of ERIC under former GOP Gov. Bob McDonell. ERIC is a bipartisan data-sharing group that assists in keeping voter rolls updated. Read more.
🚩 In April 2023, it was reported that Youngkin appointee Susan Beals, who is the Virginia Commissioner of Elections. attended Heritage Foundation's Secretaries of State Conference. Read more.
🚩 In October 2022, it’s revealed that “thousands of Virginia voters were sent incorrect voting info.” Information was missing on mailers sent to Clifton, Dumfries, Haymarket, Herndon, Occoquan, Quantico and Vienna, according to a press release from Susan Beals’ office. Team Youngkin blames the printer. Read more.
🚩 In October 2022, Attorney General Jason Miyares says, “it should be easy to vote, and hard to cheat,” and creates an Election Integrity Unit but then ignored the many issues and election snafus during the Youngkin Admin under Susan Beals. What has the Election Integrity Unit done? What are the details of their work? That remains a mystery. Read more.
🚩 In November 2022, it was reported by VPM that there was a “glitch” that “related to the transfer of data from local DMV offices to local election offices caused more than 225,000 voter registration records to sit in limbo from May through October.” Read more.
HD65: Josh Cole Endorsed by Washington Post
Former Delegate Josh Cole (D) is running against Lee Peters (R) in one of the most competitive seats for the House of Delegates where Republicans hold a 49-46 majority.
The Washington Post on House District 65. In the Fredericksburg area, former delegate Joshua Cole (D), an assistant pastor at Zion Church and former president of the Stafford County NAACP, is trying to make a comeback after narrowly losing reelection two years ago. He warns that Republicans will try to roll back gun-control laws if they win both chambers. His Republican opponent, Lee Peters, a captain in the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office, says what he wants to roll back are some of the policing reforms that passed after George Floyd’s 2020 murder.
Oct. 9-10: Roland Martin Unfiltered to Feature Candidates in Virginia Beach and Suffolk
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