Dear Delegate Carr and Councilperson Lynch,
I hope you all are doing well and staying healthy. I recognize that the pandemic is not over and I do believe you both should be commended for your public service during this emergency. Councilperson Lynch, I was delighted and relieved to hear that you recovered from your COVID-19 infection. Congratulations to you and your family!
I am writing for two reasons.
One is to follow up on an earlier request for information and attention for the implementation of ranked choice voting. My understanding is that Governor Northam’s budget provides $16.7 million GF in FY 2021 to support and replace the Virginia Election and Registration Information System (VERIS) with more modern systems that must be compatible with RCV ballots. I appreciated your earlier reply but with the replacement of VERIS becoming more viable and the dismissal of the previous City Registrar, I am hoping to hear more on this now.
Secondly, and somewhat related, I was intrigued when I read that Richmond City Council’s Governmental Operations Committee is expected to begin reviewing the city charter, or constitution, for potential amendments.
As you know, this is important as the city charter is Richmond’s governing document and lays out how the local government should function. It also outlines the rules and expectations for elected officials.
In addition to advocating for ranked choice voting as a board member for FairVoteVirginia.org, I am also a supporter of www.MoveToAmend.org, a national group dedicated to amending the federal constitution in order to establish that corporations are not people and that money is not speech. While there is certainly a lot happening on the national level with Congressional Representative Pramila Jayapal’s introduction of the The We the People Amendment, I am very much interested in seeing complimentary local and state level actions.
I will note that the City of Charlottesville’s City Council passed a resolution in support of a federal constitutional amendment back in 2012. Councilperson Lynch, you may remember that I asked specifically if you would introduce and support a similar resolution to Richmond City Council back when you first ran for your seat, and you replied in the affirmative. Now that you are in your second term, so to speak, I think it is fair to make this request again.
Certainly, Virginia is at a crossroads when it comes to campaign finance reform and its leaders putting their allegiance to citizens before corporate power. We are seeing a lot of ‘big money’ already effecting the election race for Governor. Attempts to reign in Virginia’s unusually unrestrictive campaign finance system have so far gone nowhere in the General Assembly. The Commonwealth of Virginia is different from other states in that it does have its own state constitution. Delegate Carr, would you be willing to propose an amendment to the Virginia constitution similar to what MoveToAmend.org and Congressional representative Jayapal are proposing for the federal constitution?
Again, I greatly appreciate any information or attention you can give to my humble requests for Richmond and our Commonwealth.
Sincerely,
Scott Burger
April 19, 2012 – Vermont Becomes First State to Call for Amendment Removing Corporations From Constitution
“[Other states] have passed resolutions against the Citizens United v. FEC ruling by the Supreme Court, but the Vermont resolution goes beyond simply overturning that case and aims to remove corporations from the constitution altogether and make clear that money is not speech and that campaign spending and political contributions can be regulated by government.”
https://list-manage.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=22ec715597d3c293b2e73e2e8&id=c3d90925f6&e=9c21b330d5
https://vpm.org/news/articles/21695/virginia-tests-the-water-on-ranked-choice-voting
Putting a new spin on this… http://richmondfreepress.com/news/2021/apr/29/jackpot/
April 30, 2011 – Washington State Democratic Party passes “Amending the U.S. Constitution to Reserve Constitutional Rights for People, not Corporations” resolution
The resolution calls on the state legislature to pass a resolution urging Congress “to pass and send to the states for ratification a constitutional amendment to establish that a corporation shall not be considered a person eligible for rights accorded to human beings under the U.S. Constitution.” The resolution also declares “the use of money to influence elections or the acts of public officials shall not be considered a protected form of speech.”
https://www.virginiamercury.com/2021/05/28/election-officials-begin-20-29m-project-to-replace-virginias-voter-system/
Keep planting seeds, scott!
https://richmond.com/news/state-and-regional/dominion-energy-gave-200k-to-secretive-pac-attacking-youngkin-from-the-right/article_b694b095-fa0c-5966-ba06-5c49663a4a46.html
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/3819814-democrats-introduce-constitutional-amendment-to-reverse-citizens-united-campaign-finance-ruling/
Per ChatGPT
The Virginia Election and Registration Information System (VERIS) is a statewide database used by the Virginia Department of Elections to manage the voter registration and election processes in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
VERIS is used to store and maintain voter registration records, as well as track absentee ballots, poll books, and election results. It also enables voters to update their voter registration information, view sample ballots, and locate their polling places. Additionally, it allows election officials to verify voter eligibility, monitor voting machines, and manage election workers.
The system is designed to ensure the integrity and security of the voting process in Virginia. It is regularly updated and maintained to provide accurate and up-to-date information for both election officials and voters. The use of VERIS helps to streamline the election process and reduce the potential for errors or fraud in voter registration and voting.