In April, Virginia’s Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe completed an incremental process of restoring voting rights to ex-felons that had begun under Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell in 2013. By executive order, McAuliffe did for some 206,000 ex-felons in one fell swoop what previously had been a laborious one-at-a-time process that left the majority of those who had been convicted without the right to cast a ballot, serve on a jury, fill a public office or work as a notary public. Nineteen other states restore ex-felons’ voting rights upon completing their sentences.
That first executive order will be followed by others on a monthly basis because it doesn’t apply to ex-felons released in the future.
McAuliffe and other reformers have taken the commonsense view that if the objective is to make former convicts become citizens in good standing it’s counterproductive to keep them from exercising the fundamental right of a citizen to vote.
After the order was executed, leaders of the Virginia House and Senate sued McAuliffe for allegedly exceeding his constitutional authority. He calls his authority in the matter “ironclad.” Earlier this week, the conservative Judicial Watch sued to try to keep these ex-felons from voting in the November election. The claim is that their “lawful votes” would be “diminished” by the ballots cast by Virginians with a criminal record.
But while most elected Republicans have a problem with restoring ex-felons’ rights after they have served their sentences, including probation or parole, a new survey by Public Policy Polling has found that a strong majority of Virginians supports the governor’s stance.
Sixty-five percent of voters support the restoration order, while just 26 percent oppose it. Democrats overwhelmingly (85-10 percent) support McAuliffe’s executive order. By 61 percent to 29 percent, independents favor the move and Republicans are split 43 percent for and 45 percent against.
Barring ex-felons from voting in Virginia dates back to at least the 1830s. The practice was enshrined in the new state constitution after the Civil War. Until McAuliffe issued the executive order, one in five African American men in Virginia were disenfranchised because of felonies on their records.