In 38 other states and D.C., most ex-felons automatically regain the right to vote when they complete their sentence.
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Under the order, those included will now also be able to run for public office, serve on a jury and become a notary public.
MICHAEL REYNOLDS/EPA Over 200,000 convicted felons will have their voting rights restored in Virginia.
“There’s no question that we’ve had a frightful history in voting rights as relates to African-Americans-we should remedy it”, McAuliffe admitted yesterday during a press conference.
The New York Times reports that McAuliffe is being accused of “playing politics” as he is a friend of potential Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton.
“The singular goal of Terry McAuliffe’s governorship is to elect Hillary Clinton”, Speaker of the House William J. Howell told the Richmond Times-Dispatch on Friday.
Democrats and Republicans have fought over other voting restrictions in the state. 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.
“I am stunned yet not at all surprised by the governor’s action”, Howell said in a statement.
In reaction to criticism that the timing of the announcement helps Clinton’s campaign, McAuliffe denied that the move was politically motivated and said his administration has been working on it for six to eight months.
The problem with the governor’s order is that it does not overturn a provision in the Virginia constitution, but instead uses the power to pardon to restore voting rights.
“I believe our commonwealth can not achieve its full potential until all men and women act on this fundamental right and participate in the decisions about their own children’s education, about their taxes and every aspect of their lives”, he said. Most are blacks, a core constituency of Democrats, McAuliffe’s political party.
McAuliffe, who won election in 2013 by slightly more than 50,000 votes out of more than 2.2 million cast, brushed aside suggestions about political motivations, citing his longtime advocacy for restoring rights.
The order may effect up to 200,000 voters, many of them African-American.
ME and Vermont are the only states with no voting prohibitions for felons.
McAuliffe pushed back on the criticism, saying he had consulted both legal and constitutional experts as well as Virginia attorney general Mark Herring prior to taking the action.
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Virginia is one of a small handful of states that permanently disenfranchise residents with a felony record.
