VIRGINIA – Virginia lawmakers are resisting Governor Terry McAuliffe's executive order to allow 206,000 felons to vote in the November election.
House Speaker William Howell and Senate Majority Leader Thomas Norment are asking the Virginia Supreme Court to decide whether McAuliffe's has violated separation of powers by suspending the state's ban on voting by felons.
They argue that for several decades governors have restored voting rights only on a case-by-case basis.
"From Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson to Tim Kaine and Bob McDonnell, every governor of Virginia has understood the clemency power to authorize the governor to grant clemency on an individualized basis only," the suit says.
The lawsuit adds, "The governor may not issue a blanket restoration of voting rights and thus effectively suspend the Commonwealth's general prohibition on felon voting."
McAuliffe's executive order restored voting rights to all felons who had completed their sentences and been released from supervised probation or parole. It includes voting, running for public office, serving on a jury and becoming a notary public.
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