McAuliffe restores voting rights of 2.5K felons

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s administration has restored the voting rights of more than 2,500 Virginia felons since he’s been in office.

In April, McAuliffe announced that he was making it easier for felons to regain their voting rights.

As part of that action, he reduced the waiting period for violent felons to apply for reinstatement from five years to three years.

McAuliffe also removed drug offenses from the list of violent crimes that are subject to the waiting period.

The changes built on former Gov. Bob McDonnell’s efforts to streamline the process. McDonnell’s administration restored the civil rights of more than 8,000 felons, nearly twice as many as any previous administration.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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