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Campaigns

Lake of the Woods, meet Jack Trammell

Jack Trammell
Jack Trammell

Jack Trammell, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Congress from Virginia’s 7th District, will be in Lake of the Woods Oct. 27 to meet voters and discuss his plans to help end the partisan gridlock in Washington.

The event, which will begin at 4 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 27, will take place in the LOW Community Center.

Refreshments will be served and everyone, regardless of political affiliation, is welcome to attend.

Jack, who lives on a small farm in adjacent Louisa County, is a faculty member in sociology at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland.

He completed an undergraduate degree at Grove City College in western Pennsylvania, a master’s degree and Ph.D. at Virginia Commonwealth University and a special education certification program at the University of Virginia. He has been teaching at the K12 or university level for more than twenty years.

Jack has a wide variety of interests and an extensive career as a writer. He and his wife, Audrie, a special educator and artist have seven grown children, six of whom will be actively enrolled in post-secondary education this fall.

In May of 2014, Jack declared his candidacy and was subsequently nominated unanimously by the Democratic Party of the 7th District. “It was a long decision-making process for me,” he says. “I had considered running in earlier races, but the situation in the 7th and in Washington finally convinced me that change was absolutely necessary. No matter who I would be running against on the other side of the ticket, I was determined that there would be a dialogue.”

Jack believes first and foremost in serving the constituents of the 7th District of Virginia. With both an undergraduate and graduate education, he has developed a wide range of expertise that will help him to navigate important policy issues in the Seventh District. He firmly believes in hearing from his neighbors about the issues they want addressed in Washington and is committed to ensuring their voices are heard.

Voters in the Seventh District finally have a chance to elect someone who isn’t beholden to ideological extremists or monied special interests.

For more information visit the Jack Trammell for Congress Web site.

Categories
Meetings

County registrar explains new voter I.D. law

Orange County Registrar Donna Jenni accepts gift from Club Program Chairman Pat Ivey.
Orange County Registrar Donna Jenni accepts gift from Club Program Chairman Pat Ivey.

Donna Jenni, Orange County’s voter registrar, visited the LOW Democratic Club Sept. 18 to explain the intricacies of Virginia’s new requirement for voters to show a photo identification card in order to vote.

“We didn’t make the law, but we have to implement it,” Jenni said. “I feel that we should interpret the law as loosely as possible. We want people who are eligible to vote to vote.”

The law, which went into effect July 1, 2014, requires registered voters to produce one of the following types of identification at their polling places before they cast their ballots:

  • A valid Virginia driver’s license
  • A. DMV-issued photo identification card
  • A valid U.S. passport
  • A valid employee photo identification card
  • Other government-issued photo identification card
  • A valid college or university student photo identification card from a institution of higher education located in Virginia

Registered voters who do not have an acceptable form of identification can contact the Orange County Registrar’s Office for a photo I.D. free of charge, Jenni said.

Virginia’s Republican-controlled legislature passed the new restrictions, claiming it is intended to curb voter fraud. Democrats complained that the law is a thinly veiled attempt to suppress voting among minorities and others who tend to vote Democratic.

Jenni was careful to make no comment on the politics surrounding the issue, but she said in response to a question that she is not aware of a single case of voter fraud in Orange County during her tenure here.

“It’s not clear to anyone exactly what the impact of the new requirements will be,” Jenni said.

She said no registered voter will be turned away from the polls on election day. Those who cannot meet the identification requirement will be allowed to cast a provisional ballot. If they can produce a valid identification at her office by noon on the Friday after the Nov. 4 election, their ballot will be counted.

Jenni said demand for the new photo I.D.s issued by her office has not been high. She said only four have been issued so far.

Jenni also explained that the ballot for the Nov. 4 election will be unusual in that candidates for the congressional seat will be listed twice on the ballot — once for a special election in which a candidate will be selected to fill the vacancy left when Rep. Eric Cantor resigned in July and once for the general election for the same seat for the term that begins in January 2015. This means that voters who support Jack Trammell for Congress must vote for him twice!

Janni said there are about 22,500 registered voters in Orange County eligible for the Nov. 4 election.

Categories
Club activities

Meet Jack Trammell

Jack Trammell, candidate for Congress from Virginia’s 7th Congressional District, will be in Lake of the Woods to meet voters and explain how he intends to serve Central Virginians as their representative to Congress. The event begins at 4 p.m. in the LOW Community Center.

Categories
Club activities

September meeting

Donna Jenni, voter registrar for Orange County, explains the new voter identification requirements.