In Virginia, control of the Virginia Legislature is at stake. Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin is currently sparring with the NAACP over felony voting rights ahead of the election. The NAACP said on Monday that Youngkin's administration lacks clear standards for restoring voting rights to convicted felons who have served their sentences. [00:00:16] The group's assertion followed the administration's release of emails between state officials and people whose requests were denied, the Washington Post reports. The governor has deemed you ineligible for rights restoration at this time, the email states, while telling applicants they can reapply in a year. Applicants received no explanation or justification for their denials, [00:00:32] while the state has provided no stated standards for who is eligible or ineligible for restored voting rights, the NAACP said in a statement Monday. In a late August email released by the state, someone who was clearly upset by the rejection pressed for more information. Is there a reason why, wrote the person whose name was redacted. After all, I feel I deserve an explanation because I'm not a violent felon and [00:00:50] I'm trying to do something with my life. I wanted to start taking classes towards law enforcement to be on the right side of the law instead of the wrong. This is very discouraging. This person was not given a reason. In Virginia, a felony conviction automatically results in the loss of [00:01:05] certain rights such as voting, serving on a jury, running for office or carrying a firearm. The governor has the sole discretion to restore them, with the exception of firearm rights, which is only something a court can do. Youngkin's administration confirms that it has shifted away, at least partly, from automatic restoration systems used by Democratic predecessors. [00:01:25] At least three lawsuits have been filed challenging what critics call an opaque process that could result in discrimination. The NAACP is also criticizing what documents the administration wants from people during the application process. The documents include requests by the Youngkin administration for information about applicants from various state agencies, [00:01:41] including Virginia's Department of Elections. The NAACP said the request was puzzling and suggested information being gathered was likely to include voting history. The group noted that Youngkin has refused to publicly state how he uses this information to determine whether to restore a citizen voting rights. [00:01:57] The process is apparently also extremely slow in terms of approval or denial of the applications. The NAACP has warned that the restoration process is operating at an increasingly slow pace, potentially blocking thousands of people from participating in elections, Washington Post reports. In a letter accompanying the documents released on Friday, the governor's office [00:02:15] said that more than 1000 applications submitted between January 2022 and October 23 have not yet been processed. Because they are incomplete or more information has been requested. The administration said that it has processed all applications that contain complete information through late September. About 40 applications are still pending while the administration waits for [00:02:32] a response from a state agency, the governor's office said. Former Secretary of the Commonwealth Kay Coles James defended the slow process. James said in her July letter that Youngkin is less likely to quickly restore the voting rights of anyone who used a firearm in the commission of a crime. She also wrote that Youngkin will also, generally speaking, but not always, [00:02:52] work to restore the voting rights of those who committed nonviolent crimes. I think this all means that basically Youngkin is slowing down a process that had been in place before. That once you've served your time for the crime, you get to vote again, it was a fairly automatic process. But now the Republican governor Glenn Youngkin, who a lot of Republicans [00:03:10] are asking to jump in the presidential race and challenge Donald Trump. Well, he has slowed the process down, almost seems to be slow walking it. And what happens is, of course, perhaps thousands of people get disenfranchised and cannot exercise their fundamental right to vote. [00:03:26] Adrienne, what's really going on here? >> Speaker 2: It really seems that it's a continuation of trying to disenfranchise black voters. This is something that's been happening, really, since the opportunity to vote has been extended to black individuals in the United States. [00:03:41] And you have members of the Republican Party continuing to put these hurdles out in front of individuals. While other parts of the system completely continue to play their role in seeking to really silence marginalized voices. So that people do not have an opportunity to say how they want their country run, [00:03:59] how they want decisions made. And it's laughable at this point how some people will completely think this is a democracy when it's really not. Given all the efforts that are put in to silence and, really, to keep marginalized people from playing a role in the democratic process. [00:04:18] >> Speaker 1: I also wonder if Republicans felt comfortable actually appealing to marginalized people, rather than throwing up these sort of process roadblocks. What they would do is say, look, vote for us, and here's why. Here's what we've done with criminal justice reform, or here's how we've made the prisons better. Or here's how we've streamlined processes for [00:04:34] once people get out of prison to get training. Make an appeal to people, whether they're prisoners, whether they're a particular ethnic group, explain to them, here's why you vote for me. That's how the democracy is supposed to work. But it feels like every time somebody throws up a process hurdle, [00:04:50] makes it more difficult to find a voting location, says you can't vote early. Limits the number of precincts or voting machines in African American districts. Says that criminals or ex cons can't vote, even though they're entitled to do so, that that's simply fear. That's simply fear that you as a political party have lost with that particular [00:05:09] segment of society, and you know it. And as a result, you're simply trying to keep those people from voting. Is that too extreme for me to say that? >> Speaker 2: No, the fact is that it would be great if either of the political parties would actually show that they invest in these marginalized groups. [00:05:24] That they actually wanna make meaningful change, whether it is greater and more significant enforcement of civil rights laws. Actually trying to create some kind of preparations for even just the housing law violations that are civil rights based that have been going on in this nation for [00:05:41] 100 years plus. Something that would say that, hey, I'm looking to ensure that you as a citizen of the United States are recognized and treated as a whole person. But no, that's not the case, instead, the efforts are to continue to silence and [00:05:57] marginalize groups to keep them disenfranchised. >> Speaker 1: And in Virginia, of course, it's especially pernicious, because, look, Virginia has been a trending blue state. It was once a pretty solid Republican state, it has now become something more sort of moderate. The Democrats have won gubernatorial races there. [00:06:14] Democratic presidents have won there before. So when you actually are able to disenfranchise and keep certain voters from participating, that can have real consequences. Particularly on battles for the state legislature, on candidates who may have their victory determined by a couple thousand votes. [00:06:31] Well, suddenly, if you've got a couple thousand people, say, in Fairfax County or Arlington County, who can't participate. Because the governor is not allowing them to, even though they have served their time, they've met all the requirements to being able to vote. That can have a direct impact on who might be representing that county in [00:06:47] the state legislature. [MUSIC]