Governor Terry McAuliffe announced today that his administration has restored the voting rights of more than 2,500 Virginians who were convicted of a felony, served their time and paid their debts to society.
“Virginians who have served their time deserve a second chance to become productive members of society again,” said Governor McAuliffe. “I am proud of the reforms my administration has undertaken to expand and expedite the rights restoration process and the work my team has done restoring Virginians’ voting rights so former offenders can lead successful, productive lives here in the Commonwealth.”
In April Governor McAuliffe announced changes to the Commonwealth’s restoration of rights policies that made the process more transparent and reduced the waiting period for offenders with more serious offenses to have their rights automatically restored.
“Restoration of voting rights is a key step for people who have paid their debt to society and want to build new lives for themselves here in the Virginia,” said Secretary of the Commonwealth Levar Stoney. “Governor McAuliffe instructed my team and me to make this a top priority, and we are working every day to process applications quickly and transparently so that these Virginians can contribute to their communities through the restoration of their civil rights.”
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AFP
