By: Nicole Kazmierczak
In many US states, felons convicted of serious crimes often have very restricted voting rights following their release from prison. In states like Florida, Iowa and Kentucky, people convicted of felonies are restricted from voting permanently. While in states like Vermont and Maine, there are no restrictions on voting for people convicted of felonies. In the state of Virginia, the restrictive policy of limiting voting rights for convicts has recently been turned around. Almost 6 million Americans have been affected by these policies, and have had their voices in the democratic voting system stripped simply for receiving a charge that typically lasts more than one year. Governor Terry McAuliffe of Virginia has challenged this, by ordering a restoration of voting rights for those who have been denied them for so long. He claims that this had been a roadblock in the American democracy, denying something which should be a basic right to all Americans and even those with a felony charge on their records. This order affects more than 200,000 convicted felons who have served their sentences, many of whom are African American. Many suspect that a key part of why McAuliffe chose to use his executive power to reinstate these rights is that he maintains close ties with Hillary Clinton, a democratic presidential candidate. Ordering this would allow African Americans, a large portion of voting democrats, to potentially boost Clinton’s numbers at the polls. There are many critics of this move, considering how restrictive many other states are on this issue. While every state varies on the issue, it appears that Virginia’s new stance is going to allow for many more people convicted of felonies to participate in the upcoming general election.
