Youngkin wants to move the Dept. of Elections away from the governor's office and much more from the race for governor
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Youngkin wants to move the Dept. of Elections away from the governor’s office
The Republican nominee for governor Glenn Youngkin commented Monday about what he would want to see happen to the Department of Elections in Virginia if he became governor. He also called for audits on voting machines and expressed his support for requiring voter ID laws.
“I want to take the Department of Elections and move it out of the governor’s office. I just don’t think it should be political,” Youngkin said during an event with the Richmond Crusade for Voters. I think it should be independent and a governor, whether it’s me or somebody else, should not be allowed to tinker with the Department of Elections.”
The Dept. of Elections is governed by the State Board of Elections (SBE), a five-member board that oversees the election process in Virginia. The board’s partisan makeup is three members from the party of the current governor and two members from the losing party. The governor appoints members after receiving recommendations from each party.
Youngkin’s campaign did not immediately provide clarification to Virginia Scope as to how they would move the Dept. of Elections from the executive branch.
During the event Monday, Youngkin also said he wants to conduct audits of voter machines across Virginia. “I think we need to make sure that people trust these voting machines,” Youngkin said. “And I just think like, I grew up in a world where you have an audit every year, in businesses you have an audit. So let’s just audit the voting machines, publish it so everybody can see it.”
Voter machines in Virginia are already audited after each election, however. “Va. Code §24.2-671.1 requires the Department of Elections to coordinate an annual post-election risk-limiting audit of ballot scanner machines, which will be performed by the localities,” the Dept. of Elections handbook reads. “The purpose of the audit is to study the accuracy of ballot scanner machines.”
A spokesperson for Youngkin said that these are not new positions for the Republican nominee. "As Glenn Youngkin said in February, he believes audits are a best practice when it comes to administering elections—just as audits are a routine best practice in the business world—and he will ensure Virginia continues to conduct audits and that they are thorough, efficient, and accurate," a spokesperson for Youngkin said. "Glenn has been clear about his view of the 2020 election and nothing has changed. With less than a month until Election Day, Glenn will continue to speak with voters about his plan to cut costs for all Virginians by eliminating the grocery tax and slashing taxes for all Virginians, fulling funding law enforcement to make our communities safer, and Terry McAuliffe's comments that parents should not get a say in their children's education."
While Youngkin has had to continually walk the election integrity line to not alienate the Republican base or the moderates in his party, he has always stayed strong with his belief that photo ID should be required to vote. “I do think people showing up with a picture ID is a good thing And this is not an issue to keep people from voting,” he said Monday. “It’s just to make sure that folks are who they say they are when they come vote, and people seem to trust that, that seems to be uniformly supported regardless of party.”
Youngkin’s Democratic opponent Terry McAuliffe responded on Twitter by sharing the news and tweeting, “give me a break.”
The election to elect Virginia’s next governor takes place on Nov. 2.
RSLC releases eight new attack ads against House Democrats
The Republican State Leadership Committee PAC (RSLC PAC) announced a new digital ad campaign Wednesday targeting eight Democratic incumbents in the House of Delegates.
“Virginians need to know that a vote for these Democrats controlling Richmond is a vote for the same radical liberals in D.C who are holding Congress hostage in order to pass a $5 trillion socialist wish list,” said RSLC President Dee Duncan. “Whether it’s raising taxes during a pandemic, voting to politicize education, or pushing to defund the police, Virginia House Democrats have completely sold out to their far-left base, and it will cost them on Election Day.”
The eight new ads can all be found below.
Wendy Gooditis (HD-10): Threaten
Chris Hurst (HD-12): Threaten
Kelly Fowler (HD-21): Threaten
Joshua Cole (HD-28): Under Attack
Rodney Willett (HD-73): Phony
Tyler (HD-75): Threaten
Nancy Guy (HD-83): Same Nancy
Alex Askew (HD-85): I Did
Glenn Youngkin speaks at a rally in Martinsville
(Video provided by the Martinsville Bulletin)
More gubernatorial election links:
McAuliffe ad falsely claims Youngkin ‘took over’ predatory dental clinics
Youngkin continues call for ‘audit’ of election machines in Virginia
Terry McAuliffe's claim about the Carlyle Group doesn't add up
Black voters were central to Terry McAuliffe winning Virginia in 2013. Will they help him again?
Ayala & Everytown announce $200K ad campaign in lieutenant governor race
Everytown for Gun Safety and the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor announced Tuesday that they are executing an ad campaign of at least $200,000 across Virginia. The ad features Ayala’s personal story about how her father was shot and killed when she was two years old.
“I was two years old when my father was murdered, so taking on gun violence is personal to me, just like it is for far too many families,” Ayala says in the ad. In Richmond, I expanded background checks and kept guns out of the hands of domestic abusers. Because no one should ever face this devastating crisis.“
Ayala is running against the Republican nominee, Winsome Sears. Ayala has supported gun control legislation that has passed during the last two years in Virginia.
Sears displayed a large photo of her with an AR-15 outside of polling locations during the Republican convention.
“When it comes to gun safety, the choice for Virginia’s Lieutenant Governor couldn’t be clearer: Hala Ayala, who helped pass landmark gun safety laws, or Winsome Sears, who uses an assault rifle as a PR prop,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety.
The ad will be on TV, digital, and radio throughout Virginia according to the announcement from the Ayala campaign.
Watch it below:
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