Republicans in the Virginia House of Delegates have rejected constitutional amendments to restore the voting rights of people who have been convicted of felonies and to remove anti-LGBTQ language from the state constitution — meaning that Virginians will not be able to vote on the measures during the state’s midterm elections this fall.
In Virginia, any changes to the constitution Two concurrent sessions must be held in order to approve the measure by the state legislature. The state legislature will then hold a referendum. If the majority of voters approve, the measure will be enshrined into the state constitution.
The Virginia legislature is not a governing body. approved both proposals in its previous sessionThe rejection of these proposals this week means they will be thrown away and voters won’t have an opportunity to voice their opinions during the next midterm elections.
Tuesday’s vote by the subcommittee was 5-4. It rejected a proposal to automatically restore voting rights to individuals who have been convicted for felony offenses and have completed their sentences. The subcommittee also voted 6-4 against a marriage equality amendment, which would have altered the constitution to remove any wording that referenced the state’s defunct ban on same-sex marriage.
In 2006, Virginia’s amendment banning same-sex marriage was repealed. The amendment that Virginia passed in 2006 prohibited same-sex marriage was struck down by the federal Supreme Court in 2015.
Del. Dawn Adams (D), the first openly lesbian woman to serve in the House of DelegatesBefore the party-line vote,, gave a passionate speech in which Republicans rejected the marriage equality Amendment.
“My entire life all I ever wanted to be was married. And my entire life I knew that wasn’t a possibility,” Adams said.
“You really can’t understand what it’s like to grow up in an environment when you knew you didn’t mean anything to anyone,” she added.
Republican opponents to the amendment claimed that they voted for it because its framework would allow the state’s legalization of polygamy. But the language of the proposed amendment was very specific, clarifying that the state would recognize marriages “equally under the law regardless of the sex or gender of the parties to the marriage.”
More than a dozen advocacy organizations, including one conservative, supported the passage of the amendment. The amendment was passed by all of the groups.
Del. Marcus Simon (D) called Republicans’ decision to reject the voting rights amendment “a truly cowardly move.” Former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a Democratic senator, also spoke out against this decision.
“Virginians who have paid their debt to society deserve to have their voices heard at the ballot box,” McAuliffe wrote on social media. “We wont [sic] stop fighting until we fully reverse this Jim Crow era law and make restoration of voting rights automatic.”
The governor must sign an order to restore voting rights for anyone who has been convicted in Virginia of a felony. Former Gov. Ralph Northam (D), signed more 126,000 orders to restore the voting rights of Virginians who were previously in prison.
“When people make mistakes, and pay their debts, they deserve the opportunity to return and be productive members of society,” Northam said in a statement near the end of his tenure. “We can all be proud that Virginia has been able to provide thousands of deserving people the opportunity for a fresh start.”
