Scooter Libby free -- but may have trouble voting

Scooter Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's right-hand man, may be celebrating the news that he won't be serving time behind bars for perjury. But the resident of McLean, Virginia may have to wait a while before he's able to fully participate in the democratic system our country celebrates this July 4th.

Virginia is one of three states (pdf) that permanently strip convicted felons like Libby of their right to vote. A relic of the Jim Crow era, felon disenfranchisement laws were aimed at keeping mostly African-Americans from the polls. They have the same impact today. From a previous Facing South post:

Florida, Kentucky, and Virginia are alone with Armenia in being the only democratic governments in the world that permanently revoke voting rights from all citizens who have completed their sentences ... In states like Florida and Virginia, 25-30% of black men cannot vote due to a felony conviction.

Since that was written, Florida has changed course, restoring the franchise to tens of thousands who have paid their debt to society. But in Virginia, Gov. Mark Warner -- while campaigning on the need to restore voting rights -- neglected to push an executive order that would have automatically reinstated the vote for felons who have served their time.

As a result, Libby and other felons have to go through the cumbersome process of petitioning the Virginia governor (now Democrat Tim Kaine) to have voting rights restored. But as the Virginia Pilot notes, "the process can ... take years, if it happens at all." By one estimate, 400,000 Virginia voters who have served their sentences still can't vote.

Libby may be free ... but it may be a long time before he can cast a ballot.