 Dear Robert, Yesterday, Attorney General Herring filed briefs arguing that Governor McAuliffe should not be held in contempt of court. On July 22, the Supreme Court ruled that McAuliffe's previous executive order granting a blanket restoration of voting and jury rights to 206,000 felons was unconstitutional. McAuliffe then issued a new blanket restoration to 13,000 felons who had registered to vote, using slightly different criteria (and 13,000 sheets of paper). Seeing this as an attempt to evade the ruling and the Constitution, we General Assembly Republicans took McAuliffe back to Court and asked that he be held in contempt. Herring argued that the Court should presume that McAuliffe acted constitutionally, and that to rule against him would require the court to "disrespect" a co-equal branch of Government. Herring has it exactly backwards. As was noted in a Richmond Times-Dispatch column, the Court was simply enforcing the limitations of the Constitution, and that by circumventing the Court's original order, "McAuliffe's disrespect for the law and for a co-equal branch of government threatens the freedom and political rights of all Virginians." You can read our full reply to Herring by clicking here. The rule of law should apply to everyone, including the Governor of Virginia. We have asked the Court to use its powers to enforce its original order. A ruling on our motion is expected in the very near future. Stand with us and tell McAuliffe to follow the Constitution. If you haven't done so, sign the online petition by clicking here.
Sincerely,
Delegate Rob Bell
Candidate for Attorney General
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