Supreme Court Won’t Hear Virginia’s Request to Dismiss Felon Voting Case

The Supreme Court on June 23 rejected Virginia’s request to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the state’s lifetime voting ban on convicted felons. The new order in O’Bannon v. King took the form of an unsigned order. No justices dissented. The court did not explain its decision. The petitioner, John O’Bannon, who is chairman of the State Board of Elections, was sued in his official capacity. The respondents, Tati Abu King and Toni Heath Johnson, are convicted felons barred by Virginia law from voting. They are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other legal entities. King was convicted in 1988 of felony-level robbery. A governor restored his voting rights in 2016, but two years later, he was convicted of felony-level marijuana possession with intent to distribute, according to the state’s petition....