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democracy November 8, 2017
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42,000 ex-felons in Virginia were able to vote for the first time ever

Yesterday proved itself to be one hell of an election day. America has clapped back. The LGBTQ community took VA and Seattle by storm and NJ elected the first Sikh mayor in state history.

Another game changer on this historic election day? 42,000 ex-felons in Virginia registered to vote.

This is huge.

Due to the rapid expansion of the criminal justice system, laws depriving people currently or previously having been convicted of a felony affect the democratic voice of many American communities.

Let me bless you with some woke info. The US justice system is still on some Jim Crow shit. According to a felony disenfranchisement study, currently in the US, 48 states prohibit voting while incarcerated for a felony offense.

35 states prohibit persons on parole from voting and 31 of these states exclude persons on probation as well.

Four states deny the right to vote to all persons with felony convictions, even after they have completed their sentences.

Eight other states disenfranchise certain categories of ex-offenders and/or permit application for restoration of rights for specified offenses after a waiting period.

Virginia is one of those disenfranchising states that permanently dub ex-offenders from voting even after they’ve served their time. But, Gov. Terry McAuliffe and his administration were able to restore the voting rights of 168,000 ex-felons.

It wasn’t easy for Gov. McAuliffe to restore the voting rights. When he signed the order last year, Republicans clapped back, successfully suing to block the move, arguing that “he lacked authority to restore rights en masse.”

So, Gov. McAuliffe and his administration took matters into their own hands and personally handed out the orders to each and every ex-con who had their voting rights restored in Virginia.

But why is this important? The order Gov. Mcauliffe signed gave a voice to the 1 in 5 African Americans in Virgina could not vote because of their criminal records.

Of course, the GOP was shook. They were afraid that reinstating the ex-offenders’ voting rights would play a role in Virginia’s gubernatorial election. I don’t know if they were right, but they definitely didn’t win. Fire!

Hopefully, Virginia’s newly-elected governor, Ralph Northam will continue McAuliffe’s legacy as promised.

I mean, how could anyone deny the rights of those who have gone through the system and have been “rehabilitated?” Isn’t the whole point to have ex-offenders readjust to society?

Taking away their political voice just further disenfranchises Americans that have already been punished for their actions. It would just make them feel useless.

Check out these American citizens who felt overjoyed to be apart of the voting process again.

Heartwarming feels

Homie couldn’t vote until he was 60

Tammie is making sure everyone is heard

Feels good to know that you count

Can you imagine not being able to vote because you stole diapers for your child?

Let’s get it! It feels good to know that a politician is looking out for those who previously didn’t have a voice.

Hopefully, we can move forward into a whole new era of criminal justice reform, nationwide.

The US justice system is all fucked up. By the way, screw you Ed Gillespie.