Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe issued an executive order Friday that reinstated the voting rights of 200,000 convicted felons — completely bypassing the Virginia legislature.

It is no secret that Virginia is a critical swing state in the general election and this executive order could very well benefit the Democratic Party. A large portion of the convicted felons who have had their voting rights restored are African-American — a key demographic for Democrats. Undoubtedly, McAuliffe, a Democrat himself, knows that this decision could potentially help his party.

Close

“People have served their time and done their probation,” McAuliffe said. “I want you back in society. I want you feeling good about yourself. I want you voting, getting a job, paying taxes. I’m not giving people their gun rights back and other things like that. I’m merely allowing you to feel good about yourself again, to feel like you are a member of society.”

What’s more, even if a new governor were to be elected, the restored voting rights of the convicted felons could not be taken away.

This sweeping action comes on the heels of a national debate around criminal justice reform and race relations.

The Republican Party of Virginia wasted no time in lambasting the decision, calling McAuliffe’s unilateral move politically motivated. “Those who have paid their debts to society should be allowed full participation in society,” Virginia GOP Chairman John Whitbeck said in a statement. “But there are limits.”

This decision is causing a stir among Republicans for many reasons, but particularly because McAuliffe is a dedicated fundraiser for Hillary Clinton, the current Democratic front-runner. McAuliffe denied that his actions were politically motivated and said Clinton knew nothing of his decision — in fact only a select few people did.

McAuliffe isn’t stopping here, either. His executive order doesn’t apply to future released felons, but according to his aides, he will continue to issue similar orders on a monthly basis to restore the rights of more felons.

No one knows if the newly enfranchised people will actually register, but there are advocacy groups that work to restore voting rights of felons that will surely make it their priority. One of those groups, The Sentencing Project, plans to start registering people as soon as next week.