More than two and a half million Virginians went to the polls Tuesday to elect a new Governor. For some it was the first time they had voted in years, if at all.
LaVaughn Williams is a former felon who voted for the first time in Virginia today. Listen to her talk about the power of the ballot pic.twitter.com/wQWjTXeSn4
— Sam Levine (@srl) November 7, 2017
“My name is LaVaughn Williams and I voted for the first time in the election today!”
This clip, recorded by a Huffington Post reporter on election day in Virginia, went viral.
“Just bubbling in those little bubbles gave me such a sense of power and excitement,” said Williams.
It was one of several videos, highlighting Virginians who had lost their right to vote because of a felony conviction. Since Virginia’s Governor, Terry McAuliffe, began restoring those rights in large numbers, almost 50,000 felons have registered to vote who previously couldn’t.
In a press conference the day after the election, McAuliffe was asked whether he had seen any of the interviews.
“I was so heart warmed to see those stories yesterday,” he said. “Grown men with tears in their eyes walking out with an ‘I Voted’ sticker. That’s why you get into politics.”
Restoring voting rights is done through the executive branch. Lawmakers, though, could make the process simpler. They could modify the state constitution, so felons are no longer permanently banned from voting.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.