UPDATE: RICHMOND (September 15, 2016) — Attorney General Herring issued the following statement after the Supreme Court of Virginia rejected legislators’ motion to hold Governor McAuliffe in contempt for his efforts to restore Virginians’ voting rights:

“This contempt motion was completely baseless and I’m glad the Supreme Court dispatched it so quickly. Governor McAuliffe is doing the right thing in giving these Virginians back their voice and their vote and I hope the legislature will join the effort.” -Mark R. Herring, Attorney General

In a one-page order released Thursday, the Supreme Court said it would not require McAuliffe to return to court to prove that he is complying with the court’s July 22 ruling that struck down McAuliffe’s first attempt to restore voting rights to more than 200,000 felons via executive order.

The court also said it would not allow Republican General Assembly leaders to seek further documents through a new discovery process.

Virginia Governor – Ralph Northam – Newsroom

Virginia Governor, Newsroom, Newsroom

With weeks to go before early voting begins in the presidential election, Republicans had sought to block thousands of felon voter registrations, arguing that McAuliffe’s revised process for issuing individual orders still thwarted the state’s constitutional policy of barring felons from voting.

Virginia Supreme Court denies Republican effort to hold McAuliffe in contempt over felon voting rights

The Supreme Court of Virginia on Thursday rejected a Republican effort to have Gov. Terry McAuliffe held in contempt over his ongoing efforts to restore voting rights for felons.