« MA: State cuts endanger jail diversion program | Main | Girls are the fastest growing segment of national juvenile justice population »
October 27, 2008
Campaigns butt heads over felons' voting rights
Campaigns butt heads over felons' voting rights
The Roanoke Times
October 25, 2008
RICHMOND -- Republican John McCain's presidential campaign is accusing Democratic rival Barack Obama and Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine of making a coordinated effort to add felons to the state's voter rolls, a charge that Democrats said is a sign of GOP desperation in the closing days of the race.
McCain's campaign said Friday that Kaine was restoring the voting rights of convicted felons at an accelerated clip to help Obama in the Nov. 4 election.
Trey Walker, McCain's mid-Atlantic regional campaign manager, accused the governor of participating in a "conspiracy" with the Obama campaign, a charge that Obama's campaign and the governor's office called baseless.
"I think it's pretty clear that this is just a smear tactic," Kaine spokeswoman Delacey Skinner said.
Virginia has one of the nation's most restrictive processes for restoring the civil rights of convicted felons who have served their sentences.
Kaine has restored the rights of 1,484 felons this year, including 1,261 who were convicted of nonviolent, nondrug-related offenses, according to the governor's office.
To become eligible, the convicted felons had to complete their sentences and probation periods and observe specified waiting periods. It is unclear how many actually registered to vote.
Kaine has restored civil rights for more than 2,600 felons since taking office in 2006. His predecessor, Democrat Mark Warner, restored rights for nearly 3,500 in his four-year term.
McCain's campaign relied on footage from a Martinsville cable television show to argue that Obama's campaign was working with Kaine to register felons.
In a clip of the June program provided by McCain's campaign, Democratic activist Penny Blue identifies herself as an Obama coordinator for Henry, Pittsylvania and Franklin counties and discusses the process for felons to get their rights restored. She said Kaine promised to review applications from nonviolent and nondrug offenders by Aug. 1 so that those who got their rights restored could vote in the Nov. 4 election.
"It seems clear to me that, in an effort to get felons restored and get them on the voting rolls so they can vote for Obama, that the governor's office has made a joke out of the restoration process," said former Attorney General Jerry Kilgore during a McCain campaign conference call.
Obama campaign aides said Friday that Blue is not a paid staffer and was not authorized to speak for the campaign. Skinner said the deadline was widely known for submitting paperwork to restore rights and become eligible for the November election.
Obama's campaign released a statement from supporter Lilibet Hagel, the wife of U.S. Sen, Chuck Hagel, R-Nebraska, decrying "desperate tactics meant to distract hard-working Virginians from the tough economic issues we all face."
http://www.roanoke.com/politics/wb/181729
Posted by lois at October 27, 2008 09:28 PM