Virginia Voting Rights Battle Continues

On Friday, the Virginia State Supreme Court ruled that Governor Terry McAuliffe did not have the legal authority to issue  a blanket order to restore voting rights to convicted felons in the state. McAuliffe’s order would have effected over 200,000 felons, over 7% of the voting population in that state. The ruling only restricted McAuliffe’s use of a blanket order but not the legal right of felons to vote after serving their terms. McAuliffe has vowed to restore the voting rights of those felons by reviewing and renewing their rights on a case-by-case basis, which the Court indicated was a legal procedure. Needless to say, it was Virginia Republicans who sued to stop McAuliffe’s blanket order, calling it a blatant political move to get Democratic votes. To them, apparently, the ideal of voting rights only exists if you don’t vote for a Democrat.