For two years, I had the honor of serving as Secretary of the Commonwealth – the first African American Secretary of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the youngest member of Governor Terry McAuliffe’s cabinet. As Secretary, I was the driving force behind restoring the voting rights for nearly 200,000 disenfranchised Virginians — more than the past seven administrations combined.
What most people don’t know is, the fight was personal: my father was convicted of a felony in New York many years ago, and I recall him being under the impression that he couldn’t participate in the civics process. I read up on this and told him, “no, dad, I think you’re ok,” because in New York the process is more automatic in terms of restoring your right to vote once you’ve done your time. I was able to get him registered, and though he passed away a couple of years back at age 49, he was able to participate in his first election. He voted for President Obama in 2008.
My dad had to face the fact that when you have a felony conviction on your record, it is difficult to get a job. I recall door after door being slammed in my dad’s face, and him stressing out about what was going to be the next move, and whether to check that box that says, “I’ve been convicted of a crime.” Those are tough decisions—and scary decisions—for individuals to make, particularly when they’re responsible for putting food on the table and a roof over their children’s heads.
In February, I was greeted by Sean Robertson. He was one of many Virginians that received his voting rights back when I served as Sec of the Commonwealth. Giving Virginians a second chance is essential to a fair shot at success. I fought like hell for Sean, and I’ll bring that same energy as your next Lieutenant Governor. |
