Dear friends,
Last month, Governor Terry McAuliffe announced his unconstitutional executive order immediately restoring the voting rights of over 200,000 convicted felons, including 40,000 felons who committed violent crimes.
Even the Washington Post is reporting that Loudoun County's Commonwealth's Attorney and others have found some violent felons who do not meet the Governor's self-created qualification for restoration had their rights restored "in error."
This Governor's "act fast, think slow" behavior is dangerous for Virginia.
The Governor's action is not only bad policy, but more importantly - it's unconstitutional. His action defies the plain text of the Virginia Constitution, flouts the separation of powers, and has no precedent in the annals of Virginia history.
We’re asking the Supreme Court to reverse the Governor’s executive order and to prevent him from issuing similar orders down the road.
A plain reading of the Constitution, 240 years of practice, and precedent-setting Virginia Supreme Court cases lead to the unambiguous conclusion that the Governor’s order is unconstitutional and cannot stand.
We have three separate and co-equal branches of government to serve as checks and balances against abuses of power. We are compelled to challenge the Governor’s action to fulfill our constitutional duty to check the excesses of executive power.
Sincerely,
