Felons, like dead people, often prefer the Democratic Party.

Thus this development might tip the bestowal of Virginia's electoral college votes to the Democratic candidate this fall in a tight presidential election:

Virginia's governor signed a sweeping executive order Friday restoring voting rights to some 200,000 convicted felons — and they’ll be on the rolls in time to cast ballots in November’s presidential election.

Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat, announced his unprecedented move at an 11 a.m. press conference — and said his order will also allow ex-cons to serve on a jury, hold elected office and become a notary public.

The order is intended to rectify Virginia’s long, troubled history of suppressing the black vote, the governor said. 

“Too often in both our distant and recent history, politicians have used their authority to restrict people’s ability to participate in our democracy,” McAuliffe said in a statement.

“Today we are reversing that disturbing trend and restoring the rights of more than 200,000 of our fellow Virginians who work, raise families and pay taxes in every corner of our Commonwealth,” he added.  

Before announcing his executive order, the governor consulted with legal and constitutional experts, including Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring.

McAuliffe said he was confident he had the authority to enact the change.

His order applies to violent and non-violent felons.  new meaning to the term  "a jury of one's peers" in certain circumstances.

McAuliffe's new rule that felons can serve on juries certainly gives new meaning to the term "a jury of one's peers" in certain circumstances.

Speaking only for myself, I am very much against voting rights for most felons. It has long been regarded as right that people who commit serious criminal offenses should be stripped of voting rights. What is wrong with this? Can you not forfeit the right to vote if you do something seriously injurious or even fatal to your fellow human beings?  

This move has the potential to change the electorate and not for the better. The more informed and law-abiding voters are the ones more likely to cast their votes with sobriety and with the welfare of society uppermost in their minds.

Unlike President Obama and many members of his party, I believe that by and large people are sent to prison not because society is racist but because they have broken the law.

Unfortunately, it was true in the past that minority votes were suppressed.  That is not the case today. When Democrats fulminate about attempts to repress minority votes, what they generally mean is voter ID laws that endure that only registered voters vote and only once.

Of course, this is a blatant attempt to sway Virginia for McAuliffe's old friend Hillary Clinton, and of course he will probably get by with it.

Just One Question: Weren't there enough non-violent felons to swing the election? Did he have to go enfranchise even the violent offenders?