RICHMOND, Va. – Prisoners in Virginia who want to vote again and have other civil rights restored will have to write to Gov. Bob McDonnell explaining why. A draft proposal by McDonnell’s administration would compel felons who want their rights back to tell the governor in writing about their crime, their rehabilitation and how they’ve contributed to society since doing their time.
The American Civil Liberties Union accused the Republican governor Monday of reinstituting the literacy test on convicts, many of them with limited learning. In Virginia, only the governor can restore felons’ rights. Legislative efforts to give felons other ways to regain their rights have repeatedly failed.