“Republican Party leaders have rejected a plea to let Orthodox Jews and others with religious obligations on Saturdays vote absentee in the GOP’s May 8 nominating convention, in which the party will choose its candidates for governor and two other statewide offices. Four rabbis wrote to state GOP Chairman Rich Anderson and members of the party’s governing board this month, asking that anyone with religious objections to the date be allowed to cast an absentee ballot. That option already is available to active-duty military personnel. From every Friday at sunset until nightfall Saturday, Orthodox Jews ‘do not drive, use electronic devices, employ handwriting instruments (e.g. pens, pencils), among other prohibited activities,’ the rabbis wrote. ‘As such, it would be impossible for Jews of faith to vote in your unassembled convention.'”

“Jews voting absentee could list rabbis as references to verify their religious obligation, wrote the four: Rabbi Sender Haber of B’nai Israel Congregation in Norfolk; Rabbi Dovid Asher of Keneseth Beth Israel in Richmond; Rabbi Aaron Margolin of Chabad Lubavitch of Tidewater in Norfolk; and Rabbi Leibel Fajnland of Chabad Lubavitch of Reston and Herndon. But the state GOP’s governing body – which was bitterly divided for months over whether to hold a primary or convention, and is torn over how to tally convention ballots – rejected the rabbis’ request at a meeting Thursday night. After emotional debate, a narrow majority of State Central Committee members voted in favor of allowing absentee voting for religious reasons, but the measure failed to win the 75 percent supermajority needed to change the party rules” – Washington Post.