Court Approves AG Mark Herring’s Agreement to Promote Safe Absentee Voting by Mail

RICHMOND (May 4, 2020) – Attorney General Mark R. Herring today announced that Judge Norman K. Moon has approved the Attorney General’s agreement that will promote public health and participation in elections by encouraging safe absentee voting by mail in the upcoming June 23 primaries. Under the terms of the approved consent decree, the Commonwealth will accept absentee ballots without the signature of a witness “for voters who believe they may not safely have a witness present while completing their ballot.” The order was approved despite the objections of the Republican Party of Virginia, which intervened in the case to oppose the proposed agreement.

“This agreement is a win for Virginia voters and a win for democracy. No Virginian should ever have to put their own health and safety at risk to exercise their right to vote,” said Attorney General Herring. “Now, susceptible Virginians will not have to jeopardize their well-being and violate social distancing measures to cast their ballot by mail.”

In a joint brief in support of the agreement, the Attorney General and the plaintiffs stated that the agreement “serves the public interests of election integrity, access to the ballot, and protecting public health.” They further state that the agreement, which is limited only to the June 23 primaries, advances “the interest of the Commonwealth in (i) ensuring that all eligible Virginians need not jeopardize their health or public health to vote, (ii) protecting election integrity, and (iii) that resolution well before the primary will best equip election officials to carry out their duties.”

In support of the agreement, Attorney General Herring and the plaintiffs’ brief also explained that the agreement protects the right to vote, because “many voters in Virginia who live alone may not be able to violate social distancing protocols to have an individual outside their home witness their absentee ballot or to vote in-person, meaning that they would not be able to cast a vote or have their vote counted in June.” The brief also explains that “the proposed consent decree also serves public health in that it promotes the continuation of social distancing as recommended by the Governor and state and federal public health officials.”

The brief also highlighted the many other safeguards to ensure security on absentee ballots: “aside from the witness requirement, many other Virginia laws ensure proper absentee voting including provision of identifying information, a signed attestation confirming identity, eligibility, and lack of double-voting, and a check of the ballot against the list of ballot requests…and penalize malfeasance.”