The Virginian-Pilot & Daily Press Editorial Board The commonwealth has amended its franchise â the new âVoting Rights Act of Virginiaâ is on the books â and the national press has taken notice. âVirginia, the Old Confederacyâs Heart, Becomes a Voting Rights Bastion,â ran the headline in The New York Times. The paperâs website account came complete with a very nice and well justified picture of Del. Marcia Price, a Peninsula Democrat and the legislationâs House sponsor. Sen. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond, carried the bill in the upper chamber. âI have an aunt who marched against the poll tax. My grandparents both had to pay poll taxes,â Del. Price told the paper earlier this month. âJust knowing that they lived under a system that was unfair and unequal, I learned very early that it was wrong, and that it needs to be changed.â