It is my understanding that all rules and regulations promulgated by the State Board of Elections, and the Department of Elections, unelected regulatory bureaucracies, shall not be in conflict with any state or federal election laws put in place by legislators duly elected by the citizens of Virginia.  Given the requirements of Virginia law set forth in Section 24.2-418 of the Code (below), and given the need for “best practices” that safeguard the votes of citizens, and ensure the legitimacy of the election process, it does not seem that the current "Registration Form" requirements should be altered to remove the separate and specific statements regarding citizenship or the status of a felon's rights restoration.  The election process in our Constitutional republic is central  to maintaining the legitimacy of  our representative government.  Those provisions exist to protect the legitimacy of the election process, and to guard against voter fraud and the abuse of the voting privilege that is rightly reserved to legitimate citizens of this country who have the legal right to vote.  I request that the current “Registration Form” NOT be altered to remove separate and specific statements regarding citizenship, as well as the status of a felon’s rights restoration. 

We have a process in which every valid applicant can be registered to vote but, especially given the existing issues with huge numbers of  illegal immigrants flooding this country, and our state,  and documented problems with voter fraud, it is imperative for our state leaders to make the integrity of the voting process the priority, and  ensure that those who are ineligible to vote are not allowed to unfairly participate in Virginia's elections.

I appreciate the opportunity to comment on this extremely important issue

Sincerely,

Nancy Godfrey

Code § 24.2-418 states (in part):

“The form of the application to register shall require the applicant to provide the following information: full name; gender; date of birth; social security number, if any; whether the applicant is presently a United States citizen; address of residence in the precinct; place of last previous registration to vote; and whether the applicant has ever been adjudicated incapacitated or convicted of a felony, and if so, under what circumstances the applicant’s right to vote has been restored. The form shall contain a statement that whoever votes more than once in any election in the same or different jurisdictions shall be guilty of a Class 6 felony. Unless directed by the applicant or as permitted in § 24.2-411.1 or 24.2-411.2, the registration application shall not be pre-populated with information the applicant is required to provide.”