Restoration of voting rights examined

FULL LIST OF PARDONS:

• Note: Large file, long download time

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine last year restored the voting rights of a record 1,500 felons, including dozens with violent pasts.

Many were signed up in time to vote in the presidential election.

Bernard L. Henderson Jr., senior deputy secretary of the commonwealth, said several voting groups inquired about the time limit for registering to vote -- 29 days before the Nov. 4 election. The office set an Aug. 15 deadline and was able to accommodate about 1,000 in time to register, he said.

Virginia is one of the few states that doesn't allow felons, once they have served their time and finished probation, to qualify automatically for the voting rolls. Only the governor can restore that right.

The report of the restorations, filed recently with the Virginia Senate, shows the secretary of the commonwealth's office received 2,535 applications last year.

Of those, 1,529 were granted and 207 denied. The rest were pending at the end of the year or were returned because the applicant did not meet the threshold for qualification, Henderson said.

Applicants must have a clean criminal record for at least five years before they can be considered to have their rights restored.

The record of restoration of rights is contained in a 385-page document of "Pardons, Commutations, Reprieves and Other Forms of Clemency" that the governor submitted to the General Assembly last month.

Drug users and distributors, bad-check writers, embezzlers, burglars, welfare cheats, moonshiners, drunken drivers and forgers are among the applicants whose rights were restored last year.

Kaine last year restored the voting rights of 70 violent offenders, including two murderers.

Dennis Raye Hasan was convicted in Richmond in 1977 of murder. According to a news account from March 1977, Hasan -- then known as Dennis Raye Collins -- and two of his brothers were convicted of first-degree murder for their roles in a fatal stabbing at a pool hall. Records indicated his sentence was completed in 1998. His rights were restored in September.

Virginian Carl Anthony Davis was convicted of second-degree murder by a military court in Germany in 1973. His sentence was satisfied in 1990. He, too, had his rights restored in September.

Kaine restored the rights of 155 people with drug convictions.

A total of 4,355 registered voters were deleted from the voting rolls last year after being convicted of a felony.

. . .

"The governor and members of his Cabinet carefully evaluate the applications filed for both pardons and restoration of rights on a case-by-case basis," said Lynda Tran, Kaine's communications director.

Regarding restoration of rights, she added: "If they paid their debt to society, they ought to be able to participate in society."

Henderson said applicants must complete an application with the state that subsequently is reviewed by the secretary of the commonwealth, the state Parole Board, the governor's Cabinet and the governor's counsel before it is submitted to the governor.

Some Democrats in the General Assembly have tried to amend the constitution to ease the restoration, but Republicans have blocked those efforts.

Last year, during one of the Democratic pre-presidential voter drives, Republicans labeled the strategy "No Inmate Left Behind."

"The governor is doing it wholesale . . . for political reasons I suppose," said Del. William R. Janis, R-Henrico, who noted that restoring voting rights also gives the people the right to serve on a jury.

State Sen. A. Donald McEachin, D-Henrico, disagreed.

"Once they have completed their sentence, they have paid their debt to society," said the senator, an advocate for automatic restoration of voting rights for nonviolent offenders.

"They ought to be able to participate at last by being able to cast a ballot."

. . .

Henderson said the office has no record of how many of those whose rights have been restored actually vote, but voting often is not the main reason they give for seeking restoration.

Some want to petition the courts to get a firearm before hunting season, and others want to make it easier to apply for a job, Henderson said. The restoration of rights also allow former convicts to become notaries, serve on juries and run for public office.

The sprawling document contains some offbeat applications for restoration of rights that survived the vetting process.

Back in 1987, Wesley Mullins was convicted of bigamy and "bigamous cohabitation in Buchanan County." His sentence was satisfied in 1991. His rights were restored in September.

"Unlawfully kill, steal and carry away two hogs" was the offense that lost Jimmy Dillon Reed his rights after a conviction on that charge in Botetourt County in 1976.

By 1978, Reed had paid his debt to society. Kaine restored his rights last May.

Contact Tyler Whitley at (804) 649-6780 or twhitley@timesdispatch.com.

Contact Jim Nolan at (804) 649-6061 or jnolan@timesdispatch.com.

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