WASHINGTON (Virginia) — Some 13,000 convicted felons have had their right to vote restored by executive action that was individually applied to each applicant to comply with a recent court decision, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe announced in a press release on Monday.
"Restoring the rights of Virginians who have served their time and live, work and pay taxes in our communities is one of the pressing civil rights issues of our day," McAuliffe told reporters earlier, the release explained.
McAuliffe initially issued a sweeping executive order that would have given the right to vote, serve in juries and other privileges to more than 200,000 felons who had completed their sentences.
16 August 2016, 14:10 GMT
The Virginia Supreme Court struck down the initial order, ruling that the governor lacked authority to issue blanket decrees that run contrary to a state law that denies rights to felons.
Instead, the court ruled that separate action for each individual is needed for a governor to exercise what is known as prosecutorial discretion to avoid applying a law.
As a result, McAuliffe signed orders for each of 13,000 felons who had registered to vote following the governor’s initial executive order.
