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Monday, November 07, 2016

Virginia Governor Restores Voting Rights to Felons

WASHINGTON — Gov. Terry McAuliffe of Virginia used his executive power on Friday to restore voting rights to more than 200,000 convicted felons, circumventing the Republican-run legislature. The action effectively overturns a Civil War-era provision in the state’s Constitution aimed, he said, at disenfranchising African-Americans.

The sweeping order, in a swing state that could play a role in deciding the November presidential election, will enable all felons who have served their prison time and finished parole or probation to register to vote. Nearly half are African-American, a core constituency of Democrats, Mr. McAuliffe’s political party.

Amid intensifying national attention over harsh sentencing policies that have disproportionately affected African-Americans, governors and legislatures around the nation have been debating — and often fighting over — moves to restore voting rights for convicted felons. Virginia imposes especially harsh restrictions, barring felons from voting for life.

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5 comments:

Anonymous said...

If they've paid their debt, they should be able to vote.

Anonymous said...

Felonies like rape, robbery and murder. Did the victims have any rights during the crimes? No. Did the criminal make the choice of their own accord? Yes No convicted felon should ever be allowed to vote.
Pure Democratic strategy, just like allowing illegal immigrants to stay in the US and providing them with every conceivable free benefit, all for votes.
The Democratic Party is everything that is wrong in this country. Hopefully, McAuliffe will one day become a victim of one of these felons.

Anonymous said...

funny part is democrats are the ones that took them away in the first place with Jim crow laws. Do not think this guy is a hero for one minute.

Anonymous said...

You can become a felon in MD if you get caught bringing more than two packs of cigs in from another state. Not all felons are robbers, murderers and rapists. Most of us are felons that never got caught.

Anonymous said...

And then he tells them who to vote for. I hope they're smarter than McAuliffe and fellow democrats.