Last week, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe issued an executive order to restore voting rights to over 200,000 Virginians who have committed felonies and subsequently served their time. Felons have been prohibited from voting since the Civil War, and in the early 20th century these restrictions were enhanced alongside the creation of literacy tests and poll taxes aimed at disenfranchising African-Americans. McAuliffe’s enfranchisement of convicted felons is long overdue; a system that bars felons from voting unfairly limits political participation. Additionally, it fails to reintegrate former prisoners into society.
Disenfranchisement of felons is no less discriminatory than literacy tests or poll taxes, both of which intentionally discriminated against minorities. The imposition of felon voting restrictions must be considered within, and as a part of, Virginia’s history of legally enforced, intentional discrimination. Enfranchising those who have committed felonies, most of whom are African-Americans, reduces the disparity in political participation between white and minority populations. Here in Virginia, one out of every five African-American adult males is disenfranchised — compared to a national rate of one out of every 13. The difference may be attributed in part to the fact that Virginia has some of the most stringent rules in the nation regarding felon voting rights.
Disenfranchisement of felons is increasingly at odds with society’s evolving understanding of prison systems. If individuals who have served their time are supposed to reenter society as full members, we can’t expect them to be able to do so if we don’t treat them as such.
McAuliffe has already received criticism from his opponents who view this decision to be politically expedient given his friendship with and open endorsement of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Members of the Republican Party of Virginia accused McAuliffe of making “a transparent effort to win votes.” But concerns about corrupt politicking are merely a diversion from the actual issue; McAuliffe has a demonstrated track record of reinstating prisoners’ rights, and the votes any political candidate may gain from newly enfranchised felons will be marginal at best.
Voting rights in Virginia are moving in the right direction. Allowing more Virginians — in this case, over 200,000 — to cast votes in the upcoming elections should not be seen as controversial. Considering this country’s poor history of barring suffrage for African-Americans, we should do all in our power to ensure voting is accessible to as many Americans as possible. While this executive order can’t remedy hundreds of years of discrimination, it’s certainly a start.
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