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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThe Voting Effect of Virginia’s Move on Felons? Small but Potentially Decisive
The Voting Effect of Virginias Move on Felons? Small but Potentially Decisiveby Nate Cohn at the NY Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/23/upshot/the-voting-effect-of-virginias-move-on-felons-surprisingly-small.html?_r=0
"SNIP............
There was considerable fretting or satisfaction over Gov. Terry McAuliffes decision Friday to re-enfranchise 200,000 ex-felons in Virginia.
The state will be one of the central battlegrounds this November, and it is widely believed that ex-felons will vote heavily for Democrats. (More than half are African-Americans, a big voting bloc for the party.) And the big number of newly enfranchised voters is actually larger than Mr. Obamas 149,298-vote margin of victory there in 2012.
But the electoral effect of felon re-enfranchisement is likely to be modest. The best-case scenario for Democrats might be that they improve their popular vote margin by a half-point. Thats a big deal, but only in a close election.
The reason is deceptively straightforward. Ex-felons are less likely to vote than nonfelons, even when ex-felons are eligible to vote.
.............SNIP"
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The Voting Effect of Virginia’s Move on Felons? Small but Potentially Decisive (Original Post)
applegrove
Apr 2016
OP
Wounded Bear
(58,670 posts)1. I suspect that...
the potential increase in Dem voters would be offset, more or less, by the motivational effect on Repubs who will vote against such progressive actions.
Hortensis
(58,785 posts)2. Exactly. Many're sure to regard it solely as corruption.
Others as a mixture of self-serving corruption and typical liberal moral deficiency and that ol' bleeding heart preference for criminals over good people.
underpants
(182,829 posts)3. The former Gov Bob McDonnell actually reinsted rights to a lot of ex-felons
This began slowly during Gov Kaine's time in office. McDonnell continued it on a case by case basis. This wholesale change by Gov. McAuliffe is very surprising but he has made some very bold moves since he took office. Mostly vetoes of whacked out Republican legislation.