Virginia Governor Youngkin orders all ballots in presidential election to be cast on paper

On Wednesday, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin issued Executive Order 35, ordering that all votes in presidential elections in the state be cast on paper ballots.

According to the official announcement from the Virginia governor's office, the order seeks to codify election security procedures implemented during elections with "stringent ballot security, complete and thorough counting machine testing, and best-in-the-nation voter list maintenance."

"The Virginia model for Election Security works. This isn't a Democrat or Republican issue, it's an American and Virginian issue. Every legal vote deserves to be counted without being watered down by illegal votes or inaccurate machines. In Virginia, we don’t play games and our model for election security is working," said Governor Youngkin.

Among the security measures adopted by Virginia is one that was the subject of debate during the 2020 election: mail-in ballots. Back then, due to the pandemic, many states relaxed this system allowing parties to mass-mail ballots, which was widely seized upon by Democrats and challenged by Republicans. This time around, Virginia bans mass mail-in ballots, requires paper ballots and mandates the exclusive use of ballots with a traceable chain of custody, which provides a more reliable record of votes cast compared to electronic voting machines.

"We use 100% paper ballots with a strict chain of custody. We use counting machines, not voting machines, that are tested prior to every election and never connected to the internet. We do not mass mail ballots. We monitor our drop boxes 24/7," Youngkin said.

At the same time, Virginia announced that the state will have a reliable voter verification system that will draw, in part, from Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) data and other sources to prevent people who are not eligible to go to the polls from voting.

"We verify the legal presence and identity of voters using DMV data and other trusted data sources to update our voter rolls daily, not only adding new voters, but scrubbing the lists to remove those that should not be on it, like the deceased, individuals that have moved, and non-citizens that have accidentally or maliciously attempted to register," Governor Youngkin stated.

In a lengthy post on the social network Truth, ex-President Donald Trump highlighted the steps taken by Youngkin in Virginia, assuring that the state was taking the right steps to defend the votes in November after he cast doubt on the 2020 results without concrete evidence.

"The beautiful Commonwealth of Virginia, superbly led by Governor Glenn Youngkin, IS TAKING A STRONG LEAD IN SECURING THE ELECTION IN NOVEMBER — PROTECTING EVERY LEGAL VOTE AND KEEPING ILLEGAL ALIENS THAT HAVE BEEN LET INTO OUR COUNTRY FROM VOTING. All votes will be on paper ballots and counted safely and fairly, not by machines connected to the internet — A big security risk."

"We must work hard to make sure the Election is FAIR and SECURE!!! EVERY STATE SHOULD FOLLOW VIRGINIA’S LEAD," the Republican candidate continued. "We need volunteers to watch the polls - So important. The Election on November 5th will be the MOST IMPORTANT ELECTION IN OUR COUNTRY’S HISTORY. Thank you Glenn, GREAT JOB!!!"