RICHMOND — Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s executive order restoring the voting rights of more than 200,000 felons is unconstitutional, the Supreme Court of Virginia ruled Friday, siding with Republican lawmakers who said the governor overstepped his authority.
In a 4-3 decision on July 22, the Court ordered the state to cancel the registrations of the more than 11,000 felons who have signed up to vote so far under the governor’s April executive order and subsequent ones, which also allowed felons to run for public office, serve on a jury and become a notary public
Top Republicans, who sued the governor over the order, called it “a major victory for the Constitution, the rule of law and the Commonwealth of Virginia.”
“Our nation was founded on the principles of limited government and separation of powers. Those principles have once again withstood assault from the executive branch. This opinion is a sweeping rebuke of the governor’s unprecedented assertion of executive authority,” House Speaker William Howell and Senate Majority Leader Thomas Norment said in a statement.
Republicans argued that governors cannot restore rights en masse but must consider each former offender’s case individually. Their attorney, Charles Cooper, who is on the Policy Board of the , told the justices during oral arguments Tuesday that the fact that no other Virginia governor has taken such a sweeping action proves the power doesn’t exist.
McAuliffe’s administration and backers countered that there’s nothing in the constitution that says that governors must restore a person’s rights on a case-by-case basis.
But the Supreme Court rejected that argument Friday, calling it “overstated at best.”
Republicans accused McAuliffe of trying to add more minorities to the voting rolls ahead of the November election to help his friend Hillary Clinton win the critical swing state of Virginia for the Democrats. Nearly 50 percent of those whose rights were restored are black, even though African-Americans make up just about 20 percent of Virginia’s population, according to an analysis done by the governor’s office.
