NAACP demands transparency in how Gov. Youngkin restores rights to felons upon release

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — The fight over restoring voting rights to certain felons upon release continues in Virginia. 

On Tuesday, July 18, The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) asked Governor Glenn Youngkin to provide clear criteria for how he will make the decision to restore those rights. 

“We demand that the governor adopt clear and publicly-stated criteria for restoring voting rights and critically state clearly and publicly the reasons why an application for restoration of voting rights may be denied,” NAACP President, Robert Barnette Jr. said. 

Virginia’s Constitution gives the governor the sole power and discretion to restore voting rights to convicted felons upon their release. 

Earlier this year, Youngkin changed the process after his three predecessors, Governors McDonell, McAuliffe and Northam automatically restored rights to non-violent offenders. Youngkin now requires released felons to submit an application.

In response to the NAACP, 8News obtained a letter written by Kay Cole James, secretary of the Commonwealth. 

The letter, dated July 17, says, “Because the constitution gives Virginia’s governors sole discretion on the restoration of rights, each governor determines how he will make these important decisions individually.”

The letter goes on to say that Youngkin “will be less likely to quickly restore the voting rights of anyone who used a firearm in the commission of a crime, and that, generally speaking, but not always, he will work to restore the voting rights of those who committed nonviolent crimes.”

The NAACP claimed Youngkin is slowing down the process. 

“We are seeing a dramatic slowdown in the restoration of voting rights from 10,000 each year to just 4,000 a year in 2022,” Barnette said. 

Secretary James acknowledged that the process “slowed” in order to ensure the process follows the state constitution. 

In addition, James said, “We hired additional staff solely dedicated to increasing the transparency and efficiency of the restoration of voting rights application and review process. We are very pleased that all completed applications submitted on or before April 30, 2023 have been acted on.”