Ralph Northam on Government Reform

$12 million into natural resources agencies

Amend constitution so that ex-cons can vote automatically

We need to make it easier to vote, not harder

Finally allow no-excuse absentee voting

End unnecessary restrictions: no-excuse absentee ballots

Unfortunately, Virginia law imposes many onerous and unnecessary restrictions on voting that discourage participation for many people.

Let's reverse that troubling trend by passing no-excuse absentee voting, so more people can have a say in their future without jumping through unnecessary hoops. This commonsense reform will make voting easier, reduce lines on Election Day and send a simple message that in Virginia, we want more voters, not fewer.

Make absentee voting easier

• Reducing obstacles to voting by doing away with barriers to absentee voting.
• Closing a loophole in our ethics laws by prohibiting the personal use of campaign funds.
• Giving Virginians the tools to manage student debt and hold predatory lenders accountable by passing a Borrower's Bill of Rights.

Nonpartisan redistricting so voters, not pols, pick reps

A: I do not let contributions influence my decision-making. I took on the tobacco industry in the first year after I was elected. There's a tremendous amount of influence from the tobacco industry in Virginia. I introduced legislation to ban smoking in restaurants. My record is for standing up for the principles and values that are right for Virginia.

Q: What else needs fixing in Virginia's campaign-finance system?

A: The first thing is we need to have a nonpartisan redistricting. We need to get rid of the gerrymandering in Virginia and make our districts fair so that voters are picking their representatives, rather than politicians picking their voters, which is the way it is now. After we do that, then we can tackle campaign-finance reform.

Mid-decade redistricting bill is borderline corruption

"This power-grab puts 46% of Virginians in a new district and is nothing more than an effort to pass a radical agenda that the majority of Virginians do not want," said Northam. "The Senate should be the place where both parties come together to find solutions--not the place where one side will stop at nothing to mandate things like a medically unnecessary ultrasound for Virginia's women. It's borderline corruption, and I urge the Governor to listen to his constituents and veto the bill, if it ends up on his desk."