Last month, Glenn Youngkin took executive action to make it harder for formerly incarcerated Virginians to vote.
I'm a firm believer in second chances. If one has paid their debt to society, they should be able to take part in society again — and that includes civic and democratic participation.
From Governors McDonnell to Northam, we'd seen over 300,000 formerly incarcerated Virginians become re-enfranchised. But Youngkin has pumped the brakes on what has been a bipartisan policy consensus (no doubt done to appease the far right should he ever seek higher office).
Now, instead of automatically having their right to vote restored, a previously-incarcerated Virginian must file an application – each to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis by the state. Youngkin has deliberately left little clarity or specificity about the new process, and as a result, fewer people are going to be able to see a full restoration of their civil rights.
Youngkin has disgraced the principles of our Commonwealth by setting back voting rights. He's done so without an ounce of transparency. And we need more folks in Richmond who will hold him accountable and champion the right of all free Virginians to access the ballot box.
