On March 22, U.S. District Court Judge John A. Gibney ruled that Sa’ad El-Amin is entitled to a trial, in his lawsuit that alleges Virginia’s restrictions on ex-felon voting was motivated by an attempt to disenfranchise racial minorities. The U.S. Supreme Court has previously ruled that states may ban voting by ex-felons, but if the motivation for the ban was racial animus, then they cannot, according to Hunter v Underwood, a 1985 decision of the U.S. Supreme Court that arose in Alabama.

The case is El-Amin v McDonnell, 3:12cv-538. The opinion acknowledges that it will not be easy for El-Amin to win, because the Virginia restrictions on ex-felon voting were passed before the Civil War. However, the matter is complicated, and the Virginia Constitution of 1870 re-enacted the restrictions at a time when there was an opportunity for blacks to vote in Virginia (the 15th amendment was ratified on February 3, 1870, before the 1870 re-enactment of the Virginia restrictions).

Virginia does permit ex-felons to register to vote, but only if they go through a complicated application process. Thanks to Rick Hasen for this news.