Virginia Politics & News
Virginia news from The Daily Signal, covering state politics, education policy, election integrity, and the political shift between Northern Virginia and the Commonwealth’s conservative regions.
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news
The University of Virginia’s Fight to Protect Free Speech
According to some observers, college campuses are facing a “free speech crisis.” From author Charles Murray, who faced violent protests at Middlebury College, to Manhattan Institute scholar Heather Mac Donald, who was shouted down by students at Claremont McKenna College, controversial free speech cases arise on college campuses almost weekly. But amid the chaos, some college and university… -
news
Virginia Governor Pardons 60,000 Felons, Enough to Swing Election
Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe has granted voting rights to as many as 60,000 convicted felons just in time for them to register to vote, nearly five times more than previously reported. McAuliffe sought to allow all of Virginia’s estimated 200,000 felons to vote, but state courts said each individual felon’s circumstances must be weighed. To… -
news
Why Virginia’s ‘Reasonable’ Voter ID Law Could Survive the Courts
Virginia Republicans are making the case that this state’s voter identification law is different than versions in other states that came and failed before it. “We like our facts; we have better facts than some of other cases that have struggled in court,” said Del. Robert B. Bell, a state Republican legislator. “That’s why we… -
news
Virginia Hasn’t Stopped Noncitizens From Voting, Watchdog Finds
More than 1,000 noncitizens registered to vote in Virginia and cast nearly 200 ballots in elections before being purged from voter rolls, according to a government watchdog group. The Public Interest Legal Foundation released its findings Tuesday from only eight of Virginia’s 133 voting jurisdictions. So, the group suggested, the problem of noncitizen voting could… -
news
Why This Virginia Tech Student Went on a Hunger Strike for Gun Rights
A Virginia Tech student, currently on a hunger strike advocating for the allowance of concealed weapons on campus, wants the right of self-defense abided by on his college campus. “I am advocating for Virginia concealed gun permit holders to be able to carry concealed on campus and in buildings and in the classrooms,” Ryan James… -
news
Hundreds of Noncitizens on Voting Rolls in Swing State of Virginia
The 2012 presidential race in Virginia was decided by just 3 percentage points, as was the next year’s race for governor. In both 2005 and 2013, fewer than 1,000 votes decided contests for Virginia attorney general. Against this backdrop, watchdog groups have pushed local election officials in seven Virginia jurisdictions to reveal hundreds of noncitizens… -
news
High School Boy’s Case Against LGBT Policy Goes to Virginia Supreme Court
A male high school student in a Virginia suburb has told the state’s highest court that he became “distressed,” “nervous,” and “terrified” after the school board instituted a policy for transgender students. The student and his parents unsuccessfully sued the Fairfax County School Board, and last week the Virginia Supreme Court agreed to take up their appeal…. -
opinion
In Historic Move, Virginia Legislators File Contempt Motion Against McAuliffe Over Felon Voting
Virginia state legislators have filed a motion with the Virginia Supreme Court asking for an order requiring Gov. Terry McAuliffe to “show cause” why he should not be held in contempt for violating the court’s July 22 order that vacated McAuliffe’s executive orders restoring the voting rights of 206,000 felons. The court ruled that the… -
news
Amid Complaints From Parents, Virginia School Board Pauses New Transgender Policy
After facing significant resistance from parents, a school board in Northern Virginia has decided to temporarily suspend the implementation of new regulations for accommodating transgender and gender nonconforming students. “Fairfax County Public Schools will keep handling transgender student matters with privacy and dignity in the way they always have…case-by-case, which is exactly what we wanted… -
news
Conservatives Battle Virginia Governor’s Order to Allow Ex-Felons to Vote
On multiple fronts, conservatives are challenging Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s executive order to restore voting rights to ex-felons who have completed their prison sentences. This week, Judicial Watch, the conservative advocacy group, filed a lawsuit in the Circuit Court of Bedford County, seeking to prevent ex-felons who gain from McAuliffe’s April 22 order from voting… -
opinion
Why Race Wasn’t Behind Virginia Redistricting Plan
The Supreme Court heard arguments Monday in a congressional redistricting case that involves the complicated issues that arise under the Voting Rights Act and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment when race intersects with politics. Experienced Supreme Court litigator Mike Carvin was up against Marc Elias, who is the attorney for Hillary Clinton’s… -
news
Over Governor’s Veto, West Virginia Becomes 26th State to Pass Right-to-Work
West Virginia Republicans overrode a veto by Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin on Friday, successfully passing right-to-work. Tomblin, a Democrat, vetoed the measure Thursday after expressing concern that it would not help stimulate the economy as some claimed. The policy outlaws mandatory union dues or fees as a condition of employment. Republicans argued that it could… -
news
How West Virginia Is Leading the Charge Against Obama’s Environmental ‘Power Grab’
CHARLESTON, W.Va.—The Mountain State has its back against the wall, and time is running out. Leading a coalition of more than two dozen coal states, West Virginia is asking the Supreme Court for an emergency stay of President Obama’s new regulations governing the coal industry. West Virginia and 26 other states argue that the Environmental… -
news
Virginia Mom Takes Fight Against Sexually Explicit Books to State Lawmakers
After discovering what she considers over-the-top, sexually explicit material in her children’s high school reading assignments, a Northern Virginia mother is lobbying for greater transparency inside the classroom. “This happened four years ago, when I first became aware of the books that were being taught in schools,” Laura Murphy, a mother of four in Fairfax,… -
news
West Virginia Turns to Prayer as Obama’s ‘Clean Power’ Looms
CHARLESTON, W.Va.—There’s little separation between church and the fossil fuel industry in West Virginia’s coal country. Still reeling from recent mine shutdowns, the state legislature has set aside Jan. 31 as a “day of prayer for coal miners.” “We need a higher power to change the hearts and minds of those who want to destroy… -
news
Virginia Severs Concealed Carry Agreements With 25 States
Virginia will stop honoring concealed carry permits from more than two dozen other states that currently have reciprocity privileges with the commonwealth. Attorney General Mark Herring, a Democrat, announced the change Tuesday after a state audit determined that gun laws in 25 states failed to meet Virginia’s requirements for concealed handguns. The shift will take effect Feb…. -
opinion
Are Unions Losing Their Grip in West Virginia?
West Virginia may well become the next right-to-work state. Bill Cole—the state-Senate president and probable GOP gubernatorial nominee—has made passing right-to-work legislation a top priority. However, Cole didn’t bring it up for hearings or a vote in this year’s legislative session. At the time, liberal groups celebrated the fact that right-to-work was bumped from the… -
news
West Virginia House Speaker Wants to Make Sure Planned Parenthood Isn’t Receiving State Funds
This post has been updated to include a response from a spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, who returned our request for comment after this article was published. The Speaker of the West Virginia House of Delegates has asked the state’s Department of Health and Human Resources to provide lawmakers with information about any payments… -
opinion
How Virginia Is Making It Easier for Felons and Noncitizens to Vote
Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe and his appointees to the Virginia State Board of Elections seem determined to ensure that felons and noncitizens can illegally register and vote in elections without getting caught. In April 2015, Governor McAuliffe vetoed House Bill 1315, which would have required jury commissioners to retain information from individuals not qualified to… -
news
Justice Served: One Virginia Chaplain’s Mission to Rehabilitate Jail Inmates
RICHMOND — It’s just after noon on a sunny, sweltering Tuesday in June. Roughly 15 inmates at the Richmond City Justice Center stand or sit on small, plastic chairs in a bright, sterile room on the fifth floor of the jail, waiting. For most of the men in this over-50 group, waiting is a near-constant part…