Stories Related to Sid Salter: Virginia’s Felony Voting Unlikely In Mississippi

SID SALTER Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe signed an executive order last week that in one stroke of the pen restored the suffrage of 206,000 convicted felons in a state that’s expected to be a key swing state in the 2016 presidential election. The measure applies to felons who have completed their prison sentences. McAuliffe, an ex-chairman of the Democratic National Committee and the former chairman of Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign, denied GOP charges that the executive order came in an effort to bolster Clinton’s 2016 presidential bid. McAuliffe’s order empowers every Virginia felon to vote, run for office, serve on a jury and become a notary public so long as their prison sentence has been completed and they finished any supervised release, parole or probation requirements as of the date of the order. Virginia was one of only four states to disenfranchise all individuals with felony convictions for life.