The Virginia Democratic Party is calling on Gov. Bob McDonnell to remove a new requirement for nonviolent felons to write a letter with details of their offense when seeking the restoration of voting rights.
"If Governor McDonnell wants to improve Virginia's prisoner reentry efforts, he should make it easier for those who have completed their sentence to fully integrate back into society," state Democratic Party Executive Director David Mills said in a news release Monday.
"Instead, he chose to institute an unprecedented roadblock in a commonwealth with a painful history of blocking voting rights. Given his experience last week, it's shocking that the governor would unnecessarily stumble on Virginia's history yet again."
Mills is referring to the governor's proclamation naming April as Confederate History Month, a decree that lacked any mention of slavery until days later when the governor apologized and added a condemnation of slavery.
Secretary of the Commonwealth Janet Polarek has said her office has begun to notify voting rights restoration applicants in the pipeline to submit a letter. She said the letter will help her office understand circumstances of the case and more about the person's story. It could actually streamline the process, Polarek contends, because the office will have details of the applicants at-the-ready.
If the applicant can't write the letter or would prefer not to, their attorney can write it for them, or the applicant can call her office directly and tell their story, she said.
Democrats consider it an another obstacle for felons who served their time.
"Virginians should not be subjected to more bureaucracy getting in the way of their rights to vote, hunt, or exercise any other Constitutional rights," Mills said.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement