Virginia HB 1280: Moving the date of Primary Elections [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] To my fellow hard-working Virginians Brenda, Gordon, and Monty in the House of Delegates: Greetings! I retired to my adopted home of Yorktown after thirty-two years of military service. George Washington won this countrys freedom *literally* in my backyard. After so many years of absentee voting I decided to work in local elections. I have been a member of the York County Electoral Board continuously since 2007. My family is from Cleveland where they hold elections in churches, Legion, and Union halls. I myself would personally be VERY uncomfortable voting in such locations. Here in York County, we are fortunate to be able to hold elections in schoolhouses in eleven of our thirteen voting Precincts. We paid a very premium price for our great schools here, and in my duty as a public servant I believe we deserve to utilize that infrastructure to maximum benefit. After the schoolhouse murders in Sandy Hook, CT, I could not in good conscience as an Electoral Board member turn a blind eye to Virginias mixture of children with the general population of voters on Primary Election Day. If I were a School Principal, I would be quite concerned about mixing the voting population with my student population. As Electoral Board member, I consciously would not ask the Virginia Attorney General for clarification on a point of Law whether the schoolhouse is still a schoolhouse, or is it a Public Meeting Place, with regard to concealed weapon permit holders on Election Day, because I was quite worried I might not like the answer. Let alone the question of whether felons with restored voting rights should access school grounds while children were present. The conflicts between parents and voters on Election Day of parking and access is trivial to my real fears. I strongly advocated for this Bill as adequate protection of EVERYONE concerned. Moving the Primary would cost nothing. It would hurt absolutely no one involved in the process. It is a no-brainer. You need to vote to approve HB 1280 Thank you sincerely for your time, and I sincerely hope you actually read this email. Very truly yours, Phillip C. Wolf Master Chief Petty Officer, U.S. Coast Guard (retired) York County Electoral Board Chairman Yorktown, Virginia
Posted on: Mon, 26 Jan 2015 23:00:59 +0000