PITTSYLVANIA COUNTY (WSLS 10) - Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring hopes the state's supreme court rules in favor of Governor Terry McAuliffe when it comes to restoring voting rights to felons.
Tuesday, the supreme court justices heard arguments from those suing the governor over his decision to restore voting rights to more than 200,000 felons.
The attorney making the argument said no governor in the history of the state has ever done that, which suggests that the governor does not have that power and that voting rights can only be restored on a case by case basis.
Attorney General Herring says the restoration of voting rights is needed.
"We want to do everything we can to help them reenter the community successfully," he emphasized. "It makes the community safer, it's obviously better for the individuals, and it saves tax payer dollars. The right to vote is a part of that successful re-entry."
Attorney General Herring says he is confident the justices will deliver a verdict in favor of the governor.
"The arguments pretty much went as we expected them to...we felt very confident from the very beginning that the governor's executive order was well within the clemency powers spelled out in the constitution," he explained.
There is no word on when the supreme court will hand down its ruling.