Spanberger Responds to Claims on Rights Restorations for Deceased People: State Reviewing Database Issues
RICHMOND, Va. — Gov. Abigail Spanberger said on Oct. 9 that her administration is reviewing social-media claims that voting rights were mistakenly restored for people who have died, Virginia outlets reported Oct. 12. Speaking to reporters at an event in Henrico County, she said the issue may stem from state databases that do not update death records in sync.
Spanberger explained that a deceased person's record may not be removed from every database at the same time, so a file could show rights as restored; she stressed, however, that a restoration is not the same as voter registration, and that casting a ballot in someone else's name is a felony in Virginia. State election officials, she said, are verifying the records to keep the voter rolls accurate. Republican state Sen. Glen Sturtevant has called for an independent audit of the restoration lists, saying the public needs confidence in election integrity.
The dispute arises from Virginia's distinctive system, under which the governor decides case by case whether to restore the civil rights of people convicted of felonies. Earlier this year a federal judge ruled that Virginia's decades-long practice of disenfranchising people with felony convictions was improper, and November's ballot includes a constitutional amendment proposing automatic restoration of rights after release from incarceration.
This report presents each side's statements and states the facts without taking a political position.
Sources: Potomac Local; WRIC
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Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
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