And of course all those 200.000 felons will vote Democrat. Like the saying goes, “Not all Democrats are horse thieves, but all horse thieves are Democrats”.
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Virginia's governor signed a sweeping executive order Friday restoring voting rights to some 200,000 convicted felons — and they’ll be on the rolls in time to cast ballots in November’s presidential election.
Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat, announced his unprecedented move at an 11 a.m. press conference — and said his order will also allow ex-cons to serve on a jury, hold elected office and become a notary public.
The order is intended to rectify Virginia’s long, troubled history of suppressing the black vote, the governor said.
“Too often in both our distant and recent history, politicians have used their authority to restrict people’s ability to participate in our democracy,” McAuliffe said in a statement.
“Today we are reversing that disturbing trend and restoring the rights of more than 200,000 of our fellow Virginians who work, raise families and pay taxes in every corner of our Commonwealth,” he added.
Before announcing his executive order, the governor consulted with legal and constitutional experts, including Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring.
McAuliffe said he was confident he had the authority to enact the change.
His order applies to violent and non-violent felons.
It’s part of a year-long effort to restore full voting rights to ex-cons that’s been pushed along by a coalition of civil rights groups.
“The disenfranchisement of people who have served their sentences was an outdated, discriminatory vestige of our nation’s Jim Crow past,” Tram Nguyen, co-executive director of the New Virginia Majority, told the Washington Post.
The change will allow former felons who have completed their sentences to register to vote in Virginia this year.
The Democratic governor has made restoring rights — including the right to vote, the right to hold public office, and the right to serve on a jury — a top priority, his office said.
A Twitter account that claimed to be the official voicepiece of Virginia’s Republican Party sent out a shocked reaction Friday.
“STUNNING: @TerryMcAuliffe literally just gave murders and rapists the right to vote in Virginia,” said the message.
Other Republicans blasted McAuliffe’s move as an effort to put more voters on the rolls to boost the chances of Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton in the upcoming general election.
“The singular purpose of Terry McAuliffe’s governorship is to elect Hillary Clinton President of the United States. This office has always been a stepping stone to a job in Hillary Clinton’s Cabinet,” said House Speaker William Howell, a Republican.
“It’s hard to describe how transparent the governor’s motives are,” Howell added in his statement.
The Speaker said the General Assembly was reviewing McAuliffe’s policy to assess “what options are available to the General Assembly.”
Virginia is expected to be a key swing state in November.
As many as 210,000 felons could be affected by the change, McAuliffe’s office said.
In recent years both Democrat and Republican governors had taken steps to allow more ex-felons to vote — but prior measures had not included those convicted of violent crimes.
Virginia is one of 10 states that doesn’t automatically restore voting rights to criminals upon completion of a felony sentence.
Most states require ex-felons to wait a certain amount of time before rights can be restored.
Virginia is one of four states that requires an application by the ex-con and gubernatorial approval.
The state constitution has prohibited felons from voting since the Civil War.
With News Wire Services
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