Virginia Supreme Court kills McAuliffe's felon-voting scheme

Terry McAuliffe, Virginia's governor, wreaked havoc among Republicans with an executive order giving 206,000 convicted felons the right to vote.

A huge vote bump expected by the Hillary Clinton campaign in the state of Virginia just vanished, thanks to that state's Supreme Court, which Friday struck down the controversial executive order by Democrat Gov. Terry McAuliffe allowing hundreds of thousands of convicted felons to vote in November.

Approximately 206,000 Virginia felons were affected by his April 22 order.

But McAuliffe's order is unconstitutional, the court ruled 4-3, ordering that the Virginia Department of Elections "cancel the registration of all felons who have been invalidly registered" since McAuliffe issued his order.

Aug. 25 is the deadline for cancelling all of the unconstitutional felon voter registrations, the majority ruled. Before the high court's decision, some 11,662 felons had registered to vote following McAuliffe's executive order, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Earlier this month, McAuliffe, noting the thousands of felons who had registered under his order, said on Twitter: "This is why Virginia is the greatest democracy in the world and I thank you folks for signing up. Let's keep it going."

McAuliffe is a long-time member of the Clinton inner circle. His background includes service as chairman of Bill Clinton's presidential campaign, then serving as a fundraiser and national co-chairman of Clinton's reelection campaign, and later becoming campaign chairman for Hillary Clinton's first run at the White House. In 2000, McAuliffe also served as chairman of the Democratic National Committee, holding that position for five years.

McAuliffe's executive order to restore voting rights to 206,000 felons was expected by Democrats to have a dramatic impact on the presidential election, as WND previously reported. Hillary Clinton acknowledged the potential impact via a Twitter post, saying: "Proud of my friend (Terry McAuliffe) for continuing to break down barriers to voting."

Statistically, most felons vote for Democrats.

(Image: Southern California Public Radio)

In announcing his executive order in April, McAuliffe restore in one swoop the voting rights for 206,000 convicted felons, including those who served time for violent crimes, like rape and murder. He painted his action as a civil justice issue to give blacks, who've supposedly been disenfranchised from the voting process because of past crimes, a fair voice during elections – but as the Richmond Times pointed, McAuliffe's executive order came two days after the General Assembly broke from regular session, meaning, he could have taken the legislative route to bring about the reform.

"Considering that the entire General Assembly was in session just two days ago, the timing of this action should give all legislators pause," said Senate Majority Leader Thomas Norment Jr. in the Richmond Times. "Perhaps this governor does not expect to have to work with the General Assembly next session, as he might be planning on an appointment to an office headquartered in a different capital city."

Speaker of the House William Howell also blasted McAuliffe's order as little more than a political ploy aimed at helping Clinton reach the White House.

"The singular purpose of Terry McAuliffe's governorship is to elect HIllary Clinton president of the United States," he said, the Richmond Times reported. "This office has always been a stepping stone to a job in Hillary Clinton's Cabinet."