August 3, 2014

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from the Richmond Free Press

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - A record 2,500 ex-convicts have had their voting rights restored in Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s first six months in office. In announcing the figure, Gov. McAuliffe made history in restoring the rights of so many people so early in his term, records show — putting himself far ahead of even his predecessor, BobMcDonnell, who streamlined the process in order to provide a second chance to more felons who had served their time and paid court-imposed fines, fees and restitution.

If the pace continues, Gov. McAuliffe is on track to restore the rights of 20,000 people before he leaves office in January 2018, or more than double the record 8,000 people that McDonnell restored to full citizenship before his term endedearlier this year. Under state law, the governor is the only official empowered to restore the rights of felons to vote, serve on juries and run for office.

Virginia is one of just four states that strip felons of those rights for life, unless the governor intervenes — a policy that dates back to the segregation era and White supremacy efforts to limit the Black vote. As a candidate last year, now Gov. McAuliffe promised to build on the McDonnell reforms. Soon after taking office, he announced changes to make the process more transparent and reduce the time violent offenders had to wait to apply for restoration from five to three years. He also expanded the list of ex-offenders who could be considered for expedited action as nonviolent felons to include those convicted of drug crimes.

“Virginians who have served their time deserve a second chance to become productive members of society again,” Gov.McAuliffe stated in his announcement. “I am proud of the work my team is doing to expand and expedite the process of restoring rights.”

Secretary of the Commonwealth Levar Stoney, who has led the effort for the governor, described restoration of rights as “a key step for people who have paid their debts to society and want to build new lives for themselves.”