Groups, lawmakers speak against Youngkin administration’s change in felon voting rights restoration
By Brendan Ponton
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RICHMOND, Virginia (WTKR) — Advocacy groups and lawmakers spoke against the Youngkin administration’s updated policy on restoring felon voting rights Tuesday at the State Capitol.
“Voting is a sacred right, not a privilege as the governor’s office would have you believe,” said Sen. Mamie Locke (D-Hampton).
The Youngkin administration changed the policy for felons to restore their voting rights quietly until Democratic lawmakers began asking questions last month.
Felons will now have to apply to vote and their cases will then be reviewed.
“We want to make sure that we are seeing everyone that comes out in a way that they deserve to be seen and that is an individual review. It wasn’t happening before and it will happen now,” Youngkin said on Tuesday afternoon.
Beginning with the Bob McDonnell administration, Virginia governors have been streamlining the process to restore felon voting rights.
Under the Terry McAuliffe and Ralph Northam administrations, about 300,000 felons had their rights restored and the process for restoration was essentially automatic once they had completed their sentences.
“I would not be where I am today if my own rights had not been restored. I have no shame in my game,” said House Democratic Leader Don Scott (D-Portsmouth), whose rights were restored by Gov. McDonnell following a felony conviction in the 1990s.
Youngkin said upon taking office, he directed his administration to review the policy.
“We went back right at the beginning of our administration and said, ‘What does the Constitution require us to do? Because I want to do it correctly,'” he told reporters in Hampton Roads last week.
Virginia is one of two states where felons permanently lose their right to vote following a conviction, according to the ACLU.
The power to restore rights belongs to the governor.
Legislative attempts to pass a constitutional amendment for automatic restoration have failed to advance in recent years.
“Should the governor even have the power to restore my constitutional rights? We need to pass a constitutional amendment to fax that constitution, so the governor does not have this almighty power,” said Scott.
Sen. Lionel Spruill (D-Chesapeake) has been in talks with the administration on the issue and said he was meeting with Gov. Youngkin Wednesday to hear directly from him.
“We have to appeal to his heart,” said Spruill.
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