Gov. Terry McAuliffe of Virginia announced today that his office will grant around 200,000 convicted felons the right to vote in the 2016 election, a bold move which may change the landscape of the general election.
McAuliffe’s decree will restore the right to vote for some 200,000 convicted felons in Virginia so long as they are not currently in prison, on probation, or on parole. The Virginia governor’s move comes after a long and pitched battle between state officials and civil rights activists who have long advocated for the re-enfranchisement measure. Gov. Terry McAuliffe stated today that he will restore the voting rights of 200,000 felons in Virginia, a move that civil rights leaders are already celebrating, reports the New York Times .
“It is a historic day for democracy in Virginia and across our nation. The disenfranchisement of people who have served their sentences was an outdated, discriminatory vestige of our nation’s Jim Crow past,” said Tram Nguyen of the New Virginia Majority, a progressive activist group.
McAuliffe’s re-enfranchisement of convicted felons won’t happen right away, and it won’t be the new rule going forward. However, it will play an important role in the 2016 election, reports the Washington Post . Critics of McAuliffe’s move say the Virginia governor’s motives are transparent, stating that McAuliffe has granted a reprieve to 200,000 convicted felons as a favor to Hillary Clinton. Gov. Terry McAuliffe recently raised $2 million for the Clinton campaign.
Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe restores voting rights of 200,000 felons https://t.co/CY1hIsw4Mb
— TIME (@TIME) April 22, 2016
“It’s hard to describe how transparent the Governor’s motives are. The singular purpose of Terry McAuliffe’s governorship is to elect Hilary Clinton President of the United States. This office has always been a stepping stone to a job in Hillary Clinton’s cabinet,” said State Representative William J. Howell.
According to the Washington Post , Republicans in the state House of Representatives are criticizing not only the motives behind Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s re-enfranchisement effort but also the effort itself. House Republicans are quick to point out that McAuliffe will restore the right to vote for convicted felons, regardless of the nature of the individual’s crimes.
“Murder victims don’t get to sit on juries but now the man that killed them will. A murder victim won’t get to vote but the man who killed them will. You will have child pornographers, human traffickers, robbers, rapists, murderers eligible to sit on juries and hear criminal cases of people who commit similar crimes,” said Robert B. Bell, a Republican candidate for Virginia Attorney General.
Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe restores voting rights to over 200K convicted felons https://t.co/NVIqCkm4NZ pic.twitter.com/LiTYBWREQd
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) April 22, 2016
McAuliffe’s new rule restores the right to vote to anyone who has been convicted of a felony, has completed his or her sentence, and has been released on probation or parole. McAuliffe’s move will also grant the vote to felons who were convicted in other states but now reside in Virginia. Civil rights advocates are celebrating the move as a victory for former criminals who have turned their lives around but who would otherwise face a long and difficult battle to have their right to vote restored.
According to the Washington Post , in most U.S. states, felons automatically regain the right to vote when they complete their sentences, including parole or probation, and Virginia is just one of 11 states requiring individual exemptions to be given to every single felon who wants to restore their right to vote.
“Typically the restoration process is a bureaucratic maze that requires the payment of fines or court costs, the process is so cumbersome confusing and onerous that many ex-offenders who are theoretically eligible to vote never manage to get their voting rights back,” said Michelle Alexander, a professor of law at Ohio State University.
Individuals living in Virginia can check to see if they’re eligible for McAuliffe’s vote restoration program at this website .
[Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images]