The decision Friday by Virginia's Democratic governor, Terry McAuliffe, to reinstate the voting rights of almost a quarter-million convicted felons could reverberate into the general election.
McAuliffe, who has close ties to Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton, announced he will use his executive power to restore voting rights to more than 200,000 convicted felons who have served their sentences -- many of them African Americans, a core voting bloc of Democrats.
McAuliffe's move circumvented the state's GOP-controlled Legislature and immediately sparked complaints.
"We will ensure everyone with freedom to live in our communities has the right to participate in the democratic process," McAuliffe said on Twitter.
State laws vary on the right to vote for ex-felons.
Across the country, about 5.85 million Americans with felony convictions are prevented from casting ballots, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.
Virginia has some of the strictest laws when it comes to voting rights for felons. The nonpartisan Sentencing Project estimates that one in five African Americans in Virginia is disenfranchised.
McAuliffe served as chairman of Hillary Clinton's 2008 failed presidential campaign. He is a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee.
Long considered a Republican bastion, Virginia has turned more purple in recent years. President Obama won the state in both 2008 and 2012.
Virginia has liberal pockets in the northern and coastal parts of the state. It is more reliably Republican in rural areas further south and around the state's large military bases.
Clinton won the state's Democratic primary over rival Bernie Sanders last month with more than 64% of the vote.
