The Virginia Department of Elections commissioner recently shared that election workers cannot stop maskless voters from casting a ballot. Youngkin’s legal team obtained a document that shared how Christopher Piper, commissioner, told election officials that they could not turn away voters because they were not wearing masks.
He wrote that he had received reports about voters refusing to wear masks and being forced to wait until the polling station is cleared before they were allowed to vote. The directive clearly states that voters cannot be turned away if they don’t wear masks. It states that every voter is allowed to vote at their local polling place, adding that it is not enough to offer curbside voters as an option. Curbside voting is usually only available to voters with disabilities or 65 years or older. The directive goes on to state that people cannot hold up the line for those who are not wearing masks.
The directive was issued after some reports stated that maskless voters in Virginia were told they must wear a mask to vote during the gubernatorial elections. The GOP are less likely than Democrats to use face masks. This could mean that Republicans are denied the right of voting in some of the most important governor’s races in America.
Youngkin later retweeted the Virginia GOP’s Tuesday afternoon tweet, explaining how poll workers told them they must wear a mask to vote. He wrote it is important to be clear that if someone does not have a mask, they should not be denied their right to vote or be turned away.
Matt Schlapp, the AMC Chair, also stated that he was told he couldn’t vote without a mask. He shared how he was told by his polling station that he could not vote without a mask. He asked if the mask was an illegal barrier to voting, knowing what the GOP thinks of masks. He went on to say that he can trust one thing and that is that our judges won’t do anything.
Despite Joe Biden winning Virginia by approximately 500,000 votes in 2020 as Democrat President, recent polls show that Virginians are moving away from Democrat leadership. In the polls leading to Virginia’s gubernatorial elections, Glenn Youngkin was ahead of Democrat candidate Terry McAuliffe by 49 to 46 percent.
When asked what the top issue was in Virginia, 23% said jobs and economy. 19% said coronavirus pandemic, 19% said the cost of living, and 15% said education. It was reported that 50% of respondents wanted the GOP to handle classroom and education practices. Dems have raved about voter suppression since the 2020 election with GOP-led election laws. The GOP has argued that these laws are to protect the votes from fraudulent activity, including mail-in ballots.
