Voting Rights Restored For 13,000 Felons, McAuliffe Vows More to Come

RICHMOND, VA — Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced Monday he already has restored the voting rights of 13,000 felons on a case-by-case basis and will continue the process to restore rights to others.

The announcement comes about a month after the Virginia Supreme Court struck down a series of executive orders issued by McAuliffe that had reinstated the right to vote for more than 200,000 felons released from prison after serving their time.

The ruling said the governor could restore those rights only on a case-by-case basis and that his blanket orders allowing so many felons to participate in elections violated the Virginia Constitution.

"The process I have announced today fully complies with the Virginia Supreme Court’s order and the precedent of governors before me," McAuliffe said in a statement. "It also reflects the clear authority the Governor possesses to use his own discretion to restore rights of people who have served their time."

John Whitbeck, chairman of the Virginia GOP, said in a statement after McAuliffe's first try to do it via executive order that he was trying to “stack the deck for Hillary Clinton” and accused him of a “naked power grab.”

McAuliffe said his original orders were done to help disenfranchised voters, many of whom are black, to regain their rights after having paid their debt to society.

Image: Patch file