Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin just threw a wrench in Democrats’ extensive get-out-the-vote plans. Last week, Youngkin’s administration sent a letter to state lawmakers saying he would be rescinding his predecessor’s policy of automatically allowing felons to vote. Instead, in accordance with the state constitution, Youngkin will determine whether an ex-convict can obtain voting privileges on an individual basis.
“The Constitution places the responsibility to consider Virginians for restoration in the hands of the Governor and to the Secretary as delegated,” Secretary of the Commonwealth Kay C. James wrote. “After Inauguration, the Governor charged me and our team with ensuring our application and deliberation were legal and fair — that every applicant be considered individually as required by the Constitution and underscored by the Supreme Court of Virginia in 2016.”
Under the Virginia Constitution, people with a felony conviction are permanently barred from voting unless the governor or other authority permits them to participate. In 2016, Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe issued an executive order allowing more than 200,000 felons to vote once they had completed their sentences. While the Virginia Supreme Court overturned the order, McAuliffe ended up pardoning released felons individually. His successor, Gov. Ralph Northam, did the same but nixed McAuliffe’s requirement that felons must complete their full sentences. As a result, more than 170,000 ex-cons were allowed to vote under McAuliffe and more than 126,000 under Northam.
Under Youngkin, however, the number is smaller. In 2022, about 5,000 released felons were permitted to vote, with about 12,000 people reportedly released from
