Governor Terry McAuliffe has changed history by restoring voting right to felons. With this new move not only has he made it possible for over 200,000 convicted felons in Virginia to vote, but he has completely changed the civil war era law. The law prevented previous felons who served their term and even completed their parole from voting. With many legislatures debating the move most of whom sought to restore the voting rights, Terry McAuliffe has finally done it.

In his speech he stated, “There is no doubt that the voting rights that relates mostly to African Americans has been horrible.” His speech which was made from the Virginia’s capitol was mostly centered on accepting felons as part of society. Party chairman, John Whitbeck continued by saying “those who have paid their debt to society should be officially allowed to fully participate in society.” With this move he is faced with backlash as many republicans seeking to resist expansion of voting rights to previous offenders have claimed the move as a political opportunism, pointing out it’s a move to win votes.

All in all, Governor McAuliffe finished by saying he has done his part. Pointing out that this is just the start due to the fact that an estimated 5.85 million Americans nationwide cannot vote due to felony convictions. This restriction overwhelming affected African Americans in Virginia, at least now they will have a voice.