Judge rejects lawsuit but compares Youngkin’s power to restore voting rights to a king’s

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) – Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s system for restoring voting rights to Virginians with past felony convictions survived a legal challenge, but not before a parting shot from a federal judge who compared the governor’s authority to “a monarch.”

U.S. District Court Judge John A. Gibney denied George Hawkins’ challenge of Gov. Youngkin’s process, which uses a case-by-case method after the governor dropped the automatic system for many from his Democratic and Republican predecessors.

But Gibney made his issues with Youngkin’s new system clear in his ruling, echoing similar transparency concerns that critics of the process have raised.

“No one would suggest that Gov. Youngkin’s ‘fully implemented’ system is transparent, or that it gives the appearance of fairness,” Gibney wrote in his Aug. 7 opinion.

“Much like a monarch, the Governor receives petitions for relief, may or may not rule upon them, and, when he does rule, need not explain his reasons. But transparency and the appearance of fairness are not the issues in this case,” he continued.

Virginians automatically lose their civil rights — the right to vote, serve on a jury, run for office and more — after a felony conviction.

Virginia is the only state that permanently strips the right to vote from people with felony convictions unless it’s restored by the government, per the Brennan Center for Justice , and the governor has the sole discretion to restore them .

Youngkin’s administration shifted from a policy change implemented by former Gov. Robert McDonnell (R) to automatically restore voting rights to people convicted of certain nonviolent felonies who meet specific requirements. The automatic system then saw expansions under the last two governors, Democrats Terry McAuliffe and Ralph Northam.

Ending practices that made the process automatic for some drew wide criticism from Democrats and advocates, including concerns over Youngkin using unknown criteria when considering restoring someone’s voting rights. The new system also led to lawsuits.

Hawkins, released in May 2023 after serving a 13-year sentence for a felony conviction, had his application to restore his voting rights denied by Youngkin twice. Hawkins filed a lawsuit challenging Youngkin’s approach to assessing the applications.

The lawsuit argued the system gives Youngkin “unfettered discretion” when considering applications in violation of the First Amendment, which Gibney wrote suffered from a “fatal flaw.”

Gibney wrote that cases cited in Hawkins’ lawsuit challenged officials who aimed to restrict people’s right to free speech, an “existing right,” and Hawkins’ challenge concerned “a right he has lost.”

“As someone who has never had the opportunity to vote in my entire life, I respectfully but strongly disagree with the court’s decision in this case,” Hawkins said in a statement .

Hawkins and the attorneys from the Fair Elections Center and Victor M. Glasberg & Associates who argued the case on his behalf in the Eastern District of Virginia vowed to appeal the ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

“Nevertheless, we will continue to fight for justice, and we will appeal this decision. I have met all requirements to earn my freedom, and I have paid my debt to society in full,” Hawkins continued. “Therefore, I should be entitled to the same rights as any other person with citizenship.”

8News asked Youngkin’s office if it had any comment regarding the judge’s assessment of the governor’s voting rights restoration system.

“Governor Youngkin is pleased with the court’s ruling, which affirmed the Commonwealth’s argument and upheld Virginia’s restoration of rights program,” Youngkin press secretary Christian Martinez said in a statement.

The number of people who’ve had their civil rights restored has dropped under Youngkin compared to his predecessors.

In public lists on pardons, Youngkin’s administration reported fewer than 200 pages of people who had their civil rights restored from Jan. 16, 2022 , to Jan. 16, 2024 . For comparison, the last annual report done by Northam’s administration had more than 1,500 pages of names .

Per the Fair Elections Center, more than 66,000 Virginians are disenfranchised after serving their sentences for felony convictions.

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