VOP: "Kaine Leaves Virginia’s Felony Disenfranchisement Laws Stuck in a Jim Crow Past"

Strong stuff from the Virginia Organizing Project.

Governor Kaine Declines to Issue an Executive Order Restoring Voting Rights for Former Felons

Just in Time for Martin Luther King Day, Governor Kaine Leaves Virginia’s Felony Disenfranchisement Laws Stuck in a Jim Crow Past

Richmond, VA-After months of pressure from faith and civil rights groups, Governor Tim Kaine has stated that he will not sign an Executive Order granting restoration of rights for Virginia’s 300,000 disenfranchised former felons.

Only Virginia and Kentucky permanently disenfranchise all felons upon conviction, requiring an act of the Governor to restore voting rights. Virginia’s disenfranchisement policy is a vestige from the Jim Crow era and was a product of the 1901 Constitutional Convention, deliberately designed to marginalize minority voters. The Governor has the executive power to restore voting rights via an Executive Order to all of Virginia’s former felons. Governor Kaine has received thousands of phone calls and letters encouraging him to sign an Executive Order restoring rights for former felons.

Janice “Jay” Johnson, Chairperson of the Virginia Organizing Project issued the following statement:
“Governor Tim Kaine’s decision not to restore voting rights for former felons in Virginia is a deep disappointment. Faith and civil rights groups have been fighting to correct this injustice for decades, often knowing that their voices are unlikely to be heard by those in power. When Governor Kaine was elected there was a collective sense of hope that his term may bring about long-awaited change. Today, Governor Kaine dashed those hopes once and for all by stating that he would not grant a blanket restoration of voting rights for former felons.

Governor Kaine took the route of expediency over principle by declining to correct an injustice dating back to the Jim Crow-era. Just a few days before our nation will celebrate a great civil rights leader, Governor Kaine made the decision to leave us rooted in the racism of the past. ”

The Virginia Organizing Project is a statewide, multi-issue grassroots organization committed to challenging injustice by empowering people in local communities to address issues that affect the quality of their lives. www.virginia-organizing.org

UPDATE: Here's a statement from Sandra Cook, Vice-Chair of VOP, on Kaine's motivations. The bottom line: he had the power to restore rights but "He just did not want to do it."

There is no good reason for Kaine not to restore voting rights for former felons. It is the right thing to do and given his previous support of this issue, we had high hopes that he would do it. He has mentioned that he perceived that legally he could not restore rights by blanket restoration without providing individual names of former-felons seeking their voting rights. This is not the case, though. Restoring voting rights falls under the category of "removing political disability." The Governor can "remove political disability" without providing the names to the legislature. Kaine has been in communication with numerous attorneys from the ACLU, the Brennen Center and several Universities who have provided him with ample evidence proving that he does, in fact, have the power to restore rights without specific names. He just did not want to do it.

NAACP "Deeply Disappointed" in Kaine's Voting Rights Decision

I agree 100% with the NAACP on this one.

State and national NAACP officials say they are disappointed that Gov. Timothy M. Kaine will not sign an executive order to restore the rights of about 300,000 felons.

[...]

The Rev. Rayfield Vines, president of the NAACP Virginia State Conference, said he is "deeply disappointed" by Kaine's decision.

"The constitution of Virginia and the code of Virginia gives the Governor of Virginia the discretionary power to do this," Vines said.

"Governor Kaine missed an important opportunity to leave a legacy that reverses discrimination and disenfranchisement and advance our state's democracy in the tradition of Abraham Lincoln."

Yes, Kaine most certainly did miss "an important opportunity" here. Kaine can cite all the legalistic rationales he wants, but I don't buy them for a minute. The bottom line is that Kaine could have done this but chose not to. A huge mistake to end Kaine's governorship. Sigh.

P.S. In other felon-related news, Kaine also decided to transfer a convicted murder to Germany, where he apparently will be paroled in 2 years.

Bedford County officials and families of the victims objected strongly Friday when they learned that Gov. Timothy M. Kaine had approved a transfer for Jens Soering, convicted of the 1985 murders of Derek and Nancy Haysom, to a German prison.

“By God, if there’s anything I can do while I’m still alive, I want it stopped,” said Risque Benedict, brother of Nancy Haysom. “We are horrified by this.”

State Sen. Steve Newman, R-Lynchburg, called it “fairly devastating news to Bedford County” and said he and other officials were pursuing a strategy to see whether “this decision of Governor Kaine is revocable.”

Maybe I'm missing something here, but this doesn't sound good at all.

10 Virginia Civil Rights, Faith-Based Groups Urge Kaine To Restore Ex-Felons' Voting Rights

According to the cover letter I received from the Virginia Organizing Project, "Ten Virginia civil rights and faith-based groups have joined together to ask Governor Tim Kaine to issue an executive order that would restore voting rights to most or all of Virginia’s 300,000 individuals who are being denied the right to vote because of a felony conviction, and to put in place a process for automatically restoring rights to others who complete their sentences in the future." Here's the letter they sent to Kaine earlier today.

January 5, 2010

The Honorable Timothy M. Kaine
Governor of Virginia
Patrick Henry Building
1111 E. Broad Street
Richmond VA 23219

Dear Governor Kaine:

We write to urge you to issue an executive order that will both restore voting rights for most or all felons in Virginia who have completed their sentences and establish a process by which their voting rights will be automatically restored to those who complete their sentences in the future.

Once as much a part of Jim Crow as poll taxes and literacy tests, felon disenfranchisement is no longer tolerated in the United States. Indeed, only Virginia and Kentucky still permanently disenfranchise all felons, requiring an act of the Governor to restore voting rights.

Virginia’s outdated practice has left unable to vote approximately 300,000 Virginians who have completed their sentences. These individuals live in our communities and pay taxes, and most have families, jobs and homes, and participate in civic, religious and social organizations.

Because former felons who do not vote are twice as likely to be re-arrested as those who do, felon disfranchisement is a counterproductive policy. Allowing individuals to vote who have repaid their debt to society makes better citizens and reduces the burden on taxpayers to support the criminal justice system.

Virginia is ready to join the 48 other states that either never remove voting rights or automatically restore voting rights for some or all felons. A 2006 survey shows that more than 60% of Virginia’s voters favor reform of Virginia’s felon disfranchisement law. In addition, most of Virginia’s major newspapers have called for felon disenfranchisement reform. This includes the Roanoke Times, Daily Press, Virginian-Pilot, Washington Post and the Staunton News Leader. We do not know of any newspaper that opposes reform.

In the last few years the Governor of Iowa, a Democrat, and the Governor of Florida, a Republican, have issued executive orders modernizing their state’s felon disfranchisement policies. If Kentucky reforms its felon disfranchisement law, Virginia will be the last state in the nation still clinging to this shameful, anachronistic, and ineffective policy.

Most of us have met with you or your staff in recent weeks to discuss an executive order. We appreciate the numerous opportunities you have afforded us to engage in this important dialogue, and we understand that you are concerned about how an executive order would be implemented in Virginia.

Today we ask you to look beyond whatever minor obstacles lie before you and to act on the principles that have guided you in your distinguished career as an elected official by issuing an executive order automatically restoring voting rights for all or most of Virginia’s former felons once they have completed their sentences, parole or probation.

We thank you for you attention to this important matter.

NAACP Virginia State Conference
League of Women Voters of Virginia
Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy
Virginia Poverty Law Center
Northern Virginia Coalition
STEP-UP, Incorporated
Virginia CURE
Virginia Organizing Project
Rutherford Institute
ACLU of Virginia