Simon acknowledges the difficulty in passing such an amendment in the current General Assembly, but sees this as an important counterpoint to the plan put forth by Republican Senate Majority Leader Tommy Norment earlier this month that would automatically restore voting rights to non-violent felons and remove the Governor from the process.
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Virginia’s Supreme Court has ruled Thursday Democratic Gov.
In a written statement, McAuliffe said he will “continue to move forward” with the revised process he adopted after the court ruling to grant political rights to would-be voters on an individual basis.
“I am pleased that the Supreme Court has dismissed the case Republicans filed in their latest attempt to prevent individuals who have served their time having a full voice in our society”, Gov. McAuliffe said in a statement.
Following the high court’s July ruling, McAuliffe announced during an August 22 press conference that he and his team had begun restoring the civil rights of former Virginia felons in compliance with the Virginia Supreme Court’s order. He stressed that his administration was processing felons’ rights restoration orders individually to comply with the decision, but Republicans argued there is no practical difference between his new process and his previous action struck down by the court.
We are disappointed by today’s news but respect the Supreme Court’s order. He said McAuliffe “stretched the bounds of the Virginia Constitution”. The court did not explain its reason for denying the motion.
The state constitution disenfranchises all people convicted of a felony, unless the governor restores their right to vote. As of earlier this week, McAuliffe has restored the rights of almost 20,000 people under the new process, his administration said. Violent felons could get their rights back two years after they finish their sentence, but they would have to apply to the governor first.
“The General Assembly must now review the constitution’s provision governing felon voting”, Howell said.
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“When Virginia ratified its 1902 Constitution after Reconstruction and at the beginning of the Jim Crow era, the felon disenfranchisement voting clause was, along with poll taxes and literacy tests, one of the tools deliberately created to prevent African Americans from casting their votes”, Simon’s office said in a press release.
