Tag: absentee ballot counting

  Governor Ralph Northam came under fire from Republicans, including Attorney General-elect Jason Miyares, for his lengthy COVID-19 mandates through emergency powers. Senator David Suetterlein (R-Roanoke) has prefiled a bill for the 2022 General Assembly session to limit emergency powers to a duration of 45 days. “The vast majority of states require legislative approval for emergency executive action by the governor to last for the same period,” Suetterlein told The Virginia Star. “The power is premised on the idea that there are certain situations that require immediate action by the government before the regular legislative process can be conducted,” he said. “During the last two years, we saw that there could be very serious issues, like a pandemic, that required significant attention. But they are not an emergency months after they had started, and the General Assembly could and should have considered those emergency actions.” He added, “Those executive actions have the force of law on citizens of Virginia, and Virginians have a right to have an impact on that law through their locally elected legislator.” In 2021, Suetterlein, Delegate Kirk Cox (R-Colonial Heights), and Delegate Les Adams (R-Chatham) introduced similar bills that all died in Democrat-controlled committees. For the…