Pleasant Surprise: Virginia Governor Restoring the Rights of Felons

by Colin Asher · 2010-10-01 07:24:00 UTC
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There are 11 states that do not reinstate the voting rights of convicted felons who have served their time. Each needs to pass new laws mandating automatic reinstatement of voting rights. (Or, better yet, pass laws that get rid of disenfranchisement all together.)

Without automatic reinstatement, people are left wondering whether the political winds will blow their way. Will the next governor be inclined to approve applications for reinstatement, or inclined to deny them? And how long will the process take? It is unfair to leave people guessing about the state of their rights like that, and too often they end up waiting for a disappointment.

That's why it's so pleasant to hear that Robert McDonnell, Virginia's Republican governor, is -- to the surprise of almost everyone -- approving 88 percent of the applications he has received from former inmates hoping to have their rights restored. And he's doing it efficiently, within 60 days for the most part. (Read more after the jump.)

Virginia has one of the nation's toughest felon disenfranchisement laws, and McDonnell was a law and order attorney general before he was a law and order candidate for governor, so the high rate of his approvals is both laudable and unexpected. McDonnell also shortened the period of time non-violent felons have to wait before applying for their voting rights, from three years to two, and was smart enough to back off earlier plans to require applicants to submit essays explaining why they deserved the right to participate in elections.

In fact, The Washington Post is reporting that McDonnell is on track to reinstate the voting rights of more people then either of his Democratic predecessors. He has approved 780 of the 889 requests he has received so far, whereas his Democratic predecessor, “Timothy M. Kaine, restored the rights of a record 4,402 felons during his term. Before him, Democrat Mark R. Warner restored the rights of 3,486, while Republicans James S. Gilmore III and George Allen restored rights to 238 and 460 felons, respectively.”

But according to the Post, there are still "300,000 felons in Virginia who have served their time [but] have not had their rights restored.” Meaning that even if McDonnell continues at the pace he's moving at now, he could not restore everyone's rights -- which makes his efforts respectable and inadequate. And that's why the ACLU plans to lobby for an amendment to the state's constitution that would make the process of enfranchisement automatic.

Here's hoping they're successful.

Photo credit: Mr. T in DC

Colin Asher is a former social worker and award-winning freelance writer whose work has appeared in the Boston Globe and the San Francisco Chronicle Magazine, among many others.
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