BREAKING: GOP Files Lawsuit – This Is Huge…

by Sierra Marlee | May 23, 2016 3:43 pm

Democrats have made some sketchy moves in order to receive votes, but the Virginia GOP[1] is putting its collective foot down and filing a lawsuit to prevent the restoration of voting rights to felons which they say is against the Constitution.

[2]

From ABC:

Virginia Republicans said Monday that they will ask the state’s highest court to block more than 200,000 felons from voting in November, arguing that Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe abused his power by restoring the voting rights of thousands of convicts who’ve completed their sentences.

In a lawsuit GOP leaders are filing in the Virginia Supreme Court, they say McAuliffe violated the separation of powers by effectively suspending the state’s ban on voting by felons. They say McAuliffe is ignoring decades of practice, which has made clear that governors can restore voting rights only on a case-by-case basis.

“Gov. McAuliffe’s executive order defines the plain text of the Constitution, flouts the separation of powers, and has no precedent in the annals of Virginia history. The governor simply may not, with the stroke of the pen, unilaterally suspend and amend the Constitution,” their lawyers wrote in the suit.

The lawsuit is being brought by House Speaker William Howell and Senate Majority Leader Thomas Norment along with four other Virginia voters. They said they plan to file the petition with the court on Monday.

They’re asking the justices to prohibit election officials from registering felons and to cancel all such registrations since April 22. As of last week, election officials said nearly 4,000 felons had signed up to vote, media outlets reported.

McAuliffe’s administration has fiercely defended the action and says it’s confident the executive order will withstand the challenge. The governor says there’s nothing in Virginia’s Constitution that limits him to restoring rights only on an individualized basis and accused Republicans of trying to preserve “a policy of disenfranchisement” that has predominantly impacted African-Americans.

“These individuals have served their time and are now living, raising families and paying taxes in our communities — this suit is an effort to continue to treat them as second-class citizens,” McAuliffe said in a statement. “This is simply the latest Republican attack on the voting rights of qualified Virginians who deserve a voice in their society, and we will oppose it vigorously.”

I have no problem with restoring a person’s rights, but it should be done legally and not for political gain.