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Making Sense of The Two VA Constitutional Amendments On Tomorrow’s Ballot

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When you head to the voting booth tomorrow, chances are you know exactly who you’re going to vote for. You’ve heard a ton of stuff about the Democratic and Republican candidates for House and Senate, and maybe even some of the down-ballot races that only matter within the 12-block radius of the city that you live in. But… do you know what’s up with those constitutional amendments tacked onto the end of the ballot? The confusing questions full of legal jargon that you have to answer with no preparation and only a dim understanding of the issues they address?

It’s OK, we usually don’t either. But this year, we decided we’d do some digging, figure out what is up with those, and share it with all of you, so we know which way to go when we’re all standing in the voting booth staring at these questions after a long day at work.

There are two state constitutional amendments on the ballot this election; if “yes” wins the majority on either one, it will result in changes being made to the VA State Constitution. No pressure, right?

Both amendments concern tax exemption. The first proposed change reads, “Should a county, city, or town be authorized to provide a partial tax exemption for real property that is subject to recurrent flooding, if flooding resiliency improvements have been made on the property?”

In plain terms, this means local governments and the General Assembly would partially exempt properties that flood regularly from their usual property tax burden, if improvements have been made to address flooding on the property.

The question you have to ask yourself is: do I want the government giving special tax breaks to people who continue to occupy areas that flood often? According to Ballotready, “This amendment would falsely empower local districts to provide these breaks to property owners, creating an uneven set of tax exemption standards across the state.”

Certainly property owners who are subject to repeated flooding might claim that there’s an uneven burden placed on them as they become responsible for protecting their property from said flooding. But others might think it’d be better if those people just move their business to higher ground. Which one makes the most sense to you? The choice is yours!

The second constitutional amendment change is, “Shall the real property tax exemption for a primary residence that is currently provided to the surviving spouses of veterans who had a one hundred percent service-connected, permanent, and total disability be amended to allow the surviving spouse to move to a different primary residence and still claim the exemption?”

There’s a lot to parse in this one, but a clearer way to state this one is that it allows spouses of deceased veterans to continue receiving housing support from the government if they move out of the house in which they lived with their spouse.

The question here is: should spouses of deceased veterans be able to scale down from the family home they once occupied into an apartment, or an assisted living facility? These are real questions that face people as they age, and if their survivor benefits disappear once they choose to move, they may feel trapped into a living situation that no longer serves their needs — and may carry financial burdens of its own.

On the other hand, choosing to move could destroy a surviving spouse’s ability to provide for themselves if their ability to pay for housing disappears with the move. Disabled veterans like Captain Pat Horan of McLean, VA argue that it’s important to take care of spouses who’ve cared for their partners after the injuries they sustained in combat.

“They should be rewarded. What she’s done for me, she’s been with me for 11 years since I got hurt and she’s pretty much with me almost every day,” Horan told 13NewsNow. “It’s supporting military spouses that have sacrificed almost as much as the wounded veteran, honestly. My life is forever changed. It’s just a wonderful way to give. A little extra financial support in a time of grief,” his wife Patty added.

Most states don’t allow this sort of benefit to travel with the spouse after the veteran dies, but as Capt. Horan has argued, there is a case for allowing it. Where do you stand on it? Let the government know tomorrow.

Regardless of how you vote on these and any other choices you face on your ballot tomorrow, those of us at RVA Magazine want to encourage you to vote! Exercise the rights you’ve been given, and make your voice heard!

Written by Marilyn Drew Necci and Sage Cannady

Here’s How Trans And Gender Non-Conforming Virginians Can Ensure Vote In 2018

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*This article was original published on GayRVA. 

According to a recent Williams Institute study, as many as 78,000 transgender citizens may be prevented from voting in 2018. In eight states including Virginia, voting law requires voters to show a government-issued IDs. And with many transgender and gender-nonconforming people no longer looking like their ID photos — due to surgeries, hormone therapy, and other changes to their appearance — they therefore risk being turned down by officials working the polls.

Bary Hausrath, a lawyer and transgender ally from the Virginia Equality Bar Association, points out that other options are available to potential trans voters. “Virginia does have strict voter I.D. laws for voting,” he said. ”But anyone can get a voter I.D. that is a photo I.D. just for the purpose of voting, that does not have the gender marker on it.” The Virginia Voter Photo ID Application, which is available online, should be turned in at the registrar’s office, where they will take a current picture of you that can be added to your card.

However, even this form may not be enough if the transgender or gender nonconforming person have not changed their legal name. Despite the complications in the state of Virginia though, Hausrath said, “Virginia has one of the easiest set of regulations on getting the gender markered on driver’s license” in comparison to other states. Bary went on to say that the financial cost is also “relatively low.”s,” said Hausrath

The Virginia Equality Bar works to provide “clinics around the state to help people get identification documents and change their name on various documents.” They will be performing this service at Equality Virginia’s TIES conference in late October, but if you hope to vote in 2018, TIES will be too late to get your documentation ready in time.  Hausrath encourages those who are in need to start the documentation process now.

For trans people who are in need of current legal documentation, the most important aspect to focus time and energy into is getting your legal name changed. Information on starting this process can be found through the National Center for Transgender Equality’s website, which lists instructions for all state and federal documentation a transgender person might need.

The Virginia Equality Bar Association is based in Richmond, but several other aid networks for transgender and gender non-conforming citizens exist around the state. Equality Virginia’s TIES pop-ups, which happen in various cities across the state, help bring these sorts of resources to people who don’t live in close proximity to Virginia’s capital, including Norfolk, Virginia and Winchester, Virginia. In addition to help with legal documentation, these clinics also include medical and mental health consultations, job training, advocacy workshops, and introductions to supportive organizations based within the local community.

Hausrath is still concerned about the safety of transgender citizens under the current administration. “Our community needs to be on guard and vigilant,” he said. “You never know where the next attack will come from, but when it comes to voting I think most of the damage from the federal level has been done.”

Voting is just one of many ways that citizens can directly impact politics, but it is the most direct opportunity we have to choose who represents us in government. It may be more difficult for transgender and gender non-conforming Virginians to make their votes count this year, but the opportunity to make our voices heard is one we should be take advantage of, especially within the current political climate.

RVA #31: Hope for 2018! Young People Say Respect My Vote!

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The Virginia 2017 elections showed us what we already knew: Whenever young people show up, progressive values win. Those afraid of progressive values want to keep young people at home, in the dark, and out of touch with our democratic process. 2017 should be a warning sign to those who try and get in the way of the passion and power of young people. And they shouldn’t be surprised when young voters show up in droves next year to make the change we believe in.

Originally printed in RVA #31 WINTER 2017, you can check out the issue HERE or pick it up around Richmond now. 

Aug. 12, 2017 was a tough day. For me personally, my Uncle Jerome Gilchrist passed away. He was a Lieutenant in the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Department and he had been dealing with cancer. While his passing wasn’t unexpected, it was still very painful.

I heard about my Uncle Jerome’s passing while witnessing racism and hate at levels I had never seen before. August 12 was the same day Nazis walked the streets and white supremacists carried guns with the intentions of intimidation in front of my eyes in Charlottesville. It was the day Heather Heyer was killed, and two first responders also died trying to help the dozens of others that were injured in the chaos. 

What played out in Virginia was heartbreaking. In many ways, it also seemed like similar chaos had become commonplace on Main Street America in 2017. Some numb from all the horrific actions by the Trump Administrations, others beat down and burnt out from resisting so hard. But it was as if our country was losing grips with what it meant to be American – hope.

My remaining hope was that we could salvage the year with a strong turnout in the 2017 Virginia elections in November. It seemed like the only thing that would either correct or send us over the edge. So it made sense, in a higher power kind of way, that Hip Hop Caucus’s voter engagement efforts in Virginia would be led by someone named “No Malice.”

Respect My Vote!, our award-winning voter education and mobilization program, was poised to engage thousands of young people and encourage them to make their voices heard on Nov. 7. No Malice, a Virginia Beach native formerly of the acclaimed rap duo The Clipse, led a team of over 20 artists and activists from different communities throughout the Commonwealth to register young people, ensure they knew the issues, and prepare them for Election Day. When the dust settled, our team had led multiple online engagement sessions, participated in multiple radio interviews with some of the hottest DJs in Virginia, showed up at homecoming parties, and met face to face with hundreds of students on campuses to talk about why their voice and vote matter in our democracy.

Virginia 2017 was an important test for our team, but more significantly, an important test for our country. It was a sweeping success for progressive values that marked a point in time when the momentum began to shift from the 2016 elections. During a seemingly dismal year and an exceedingly dark time for progressive values, people showed their passion for the issues and understanding of the importance of their vote in order to drive change.

One group, in particular, showed up at the ballot box to impact the results: young people. Despite only 34 percent of young people between the ages of 18-29 turned out, young people in Virginia managed to blow the traditionally low turnout numbers for off-year presidential elections out of the water. They made the difference in the election.

Heading into next year, it’s as important as ever to energize young people and make sure that they know just how important their voice is in our democracy. While the constant stream of bad news out of Washington D.C. might be exhausting, and social media memes and soundbites of Trump are starting to get old, it’s crucial young people stay engaged and focused on their opportunity to make change at the ballot box. The issues we care about – like health care, social and criminal justice, climate change, affordable education, civil and human rights, good paying jobs – are too important, and they’re all at stake.

There are a lot of bad things that keep me up at night, but one of the good things is the sheer opportunity of igniting all the young people who don’t exercise their right to vote. Imagine if the other 66 percent of young people voted in Virginia 2017. Now think about igniting that kind of power, and come to grips with the fact that more millennials will be eligible to vote than baby boomers in 2018. Can you imagine why I’m hopeful for 2018?

 

Virginia Politics Sponsored by F.W. Sullivans