Nov 7, 2023
Republican Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin fights with the Virginia NAACP and residents after getting called out for devastating voter rights stripping for convicted felons who served their sentences, a process which changed in the recent years ahead of Youngkin's general election. David Shuster and Adrienne Lawrence break it down on The Damage Report.
- 6 minutes
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.
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The Damage Report: November 7, 2023
Hosts: David Shuster Guests: Adrienne Lawrence