18 May 2012 National Center for Public Policy Research Reacts to Virginia Gov. McDonnell’s Decision to Sign Voter ID into Law

Mason Neck, VA/Washington, DC – National Center for Public Policy Research adjunct fellow and legal commentator Horace Cooper today issued the following statement concerning the Voter ID legislation signed into law by Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell:

“Governor McDonnell and the state of Virginia are to be commended for the steps they are taking to ensure that the votes of lawful residents are counted. Ballot integrity and self-government go hand-in-hand.”

“Virginia now joins the majority of states in the US requiring this simple and transparent technique — Voter ID cards — to ensure that real voters decide who our elected officials will be.”

Along with signing the bill Governor McDonnell issued an executive order which:

* Ensures every Virginia voter receives an identification card before Election Day;
* Initiates a voter outreach campaign between now and the November general election to educate voters about Virginia’s voter identification requirements; and
* Requires that general registrars and electoral boards be informed that they may contact individuals voting provisionally without an ID about the need to provide one.

Horace Cooper has appeared on numerous radio programs discussing the pros and cons of Voter ID requirements, and has written several National Center National Policy Analysis papers focusing on the legal arguments associated with Voter ID, including “Justice Department Plays Fast and Loose with Facts and Constitution in Challenging Texas Voter ID Law” (April 2012) and “When the Dead Vote, the Living Suffer: Department of Justice is Wrong to Oppose Voter ID” (January 2012).

Cooper is an adjunct fellow with the National Center for Public Policy Research, a member of the African-American leadership group Project 21 and a legal commentator. He taught constitutional law at George Mason University in Virginia and was a senior counsel to U.S. House Majority Leader Dick Armey.

The National Center for Public Policy Research is a conservative, free-market, non-profit think-tank established in 1982. It is supported by the voluntary gifts of over 100,000 individual recent supporters. In 2011 it received over 350,000 individual donations. Two percent of its revenue comes from corporate sources. Contributions to it are tax-deductible and greatly appreciated.

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