McAuliffe said state officials would continue to review cases.
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The governor’s office did not release any specific details about what Monday’s announcement will entail. And he called on state legislators to change state law, which strips felons of their civil rights.
“Never before”, Lemons wrote, “have any of the prior 71 Virginia governors” issued such a clemency order of any kind, “whether to restore civil rights or grant a pardon, to an entire class of unnamed felons without regard for the nature of the crimes or any other individual circumstances relevant to the request”. That ruling invalidated a previous executive order that had restored the voting rights of more than 200,000 felons who had completed their sentences.
Restoration of civil rights is a prerequisite to apply for the restoration of firearms rights.
The Supreme Court agreed and ordered the names of the felons who had registered to vote to be stripped from voter rolls. But with polls suggesting Clinton now has a solid lead in the state over GOP nominee Donald Trump, her campaign has said it won’t run local ads there, allowing it to focus resources on states that appear closer. Starlings was certified to appear on the ballot but then lost the right to vote when the Supreme Court overturned McAuliffe’s order.
“Undoubtedly, the governor has restored the rights of some deserving citizens”.
The governor also laid out a plan for how he will restore the rights of the tens of thousands of other felons who were impacted by the court ruling. “The people of full Virginia deserve a full explanation of the policy”, Howell said in a written statement.
The executive order also mistakenly included sex offenders and several convicted murderers.
The Supreme Court of Virginia nullified McAuliffe’s April order a month ago, agreeing with GOP legislative leaders who sued the governor over what the court determined was an unconstitutional exercise of his restoration powers.
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