Virginia Republicans filed a lawsuit Monday to get the state supreme court to keep 206,000 felons from voting in the upcoming general election. They argue in the 61-page suit that Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe exceeded his authority and violated the Virginia constitution’s separation of powers when he effectively suspended the state’s ban on restoring voting rights to felons who had served their sentences. House Speaker William Howell and Senate Majority Leader Thomas Norment filed the suit along with four other voters.
In addition to voting, McAuliffe’s order restores other aspects of citizenship to felons who have completed their sentences and any parole or probation provisions. They can also run for office and serve on a jury.
According to media reports, state officials say 4,000 felons have registered to vote since April 22. The lawsuit seeks cancellation of all those registrations and a ban on registering any more:
“Once you have served your time, and you’ve finished up your supervised parole ... I want you back as a full citizen of the commonwealth,” McAuliffe said when announcing his order. “I want you to have a job. I want you paying taxes, and you can’t be a second-class citizen.”
Republican critics have called the move a favor to Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton, McAuliffe’s close friend and political ally, who could benefit from higher numbers of minority voters in the crucial swing state.
In fact, studies back up at least part of McAuliffe’s argument in their conclusions that felons who have their voting rights restored are less likely to reoffend.
The lawsuit states: "The Governor is authorized to restore the voting rights of any convicted felon through an individualized grant of clemency, but he may not issue a blanket restoration of voting rights and thus effectively suspend the Commonwealth's general prohibition on felon voting."
Meanwhile, the National Rifle Association seeks to restore gun rights to felons, but opposes returning their voting rights. Here’s NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre proposing that McAuliffe’s move is an attempt to sneak Hillary Clinton into the White House:
“There’s no limit as to how far the elites will go to put Hillary into the White House. They’re even allowing convicted felons the right to vote, including violent rapists and murderers. Sounds outrageous but it’s true. The Democratic-led Maryland General Assembly did it for 44,000 ex-cons. In Virginia, Democratic Governor Terry McAullife, Hillary’s longtime bag man, did it for 206,000 convicted felons. Tentacles of the Clinton machine are out registering those felons right now. They’re releasing them and then they’re registering them. Heck, when they sign their release papers, they might as well, at the prison door, be standing there giving them a Hillary Clinton bumper sticker. It’s unbelievable.”
What’s unbelievable is the NRA’s deep-fried hypocrisy, not just in the matter of felons’ voting rights. The organization fights to have our schools, places of worship, bars, public transportation, courtrooms, and political rallies be legally open to as many guns as people want to bring. But it puts up metal detectors to ensure that no guns get through the doors at the NRA’s annual meeting.
All too believable when it comes to the NRA’s fanatical leadership.