Nathaniel Hill, a 59-year-old truck driver and Marine veteran from Southside Virginia, gets particularly frustrated when he thinks about how much he has to pay to the government that accidentally took away his ability to vote.

“I paid $3,300 in taxes last year,” Hill said. “If you can accept my tax money, then you can restore my rights. We don’t want taxation without representation. … I work hard just like the next person.”

Hill — one of an estimated 3,400 Virginians with felony convictions who erroneously had their voter registrations canceled when Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration took a stricter approach to cleaning up the voter rolls — traveled to Richmond from his home in Southampton County to blast Youngkin over the voting rights ordeal he and others have been through.

This story was reported and written by The Virginia Mercury

“This is not a glitch,” Hill said as he spoke at the bell tower on Capitol Square Wednesday, explaining that he just now got a letter telling him he’s eligible to vote again after being told he was ineligible late last year.

On Friday, the Virginia Department of Elections announced state and local officials had reinstated the voter registrations of almost everyone believed to be affected by what the Youngkin administration has described as an administrative error.

Under Virginia’s system, people convicted of felonies lose their power to vote and, once released from incarceration, can only get it back if the governor restores their voting rights.

The problem revealed this year arose, according to state officials, as the elections department attempted to fix a related problem in the voter system that was preventing people who re-offended after having their rights restored from being taken off the voter rolls as they should’ve been. However, the felony conviction data from the Virginia State Police that was powering those removals included not only felony convictions, but also the names of people with probation violations. It was that group that was erroneously removed when there should’ve been no change to their voting status.

The elections department, run by Youngkin-appointed Commissioner Susan Beals, is indicating the issue is now resolved.

“Impacted voters are receiving written notification that their registration has been reinstated and those voters will be able to vote in the November general election,” the agency said Friday.

In response to Wednesday’s event, Youngkin spokesperson Macaulay Porter said the governor “has consistently stated all eligible voters should be able to vote.”

Voting rights advocates aren’t so sure about that, pointing out Wednesday that the explanations coming from the governor’s representatives, as well as the numbers on how many registrations were wrongly canceled, have changed over time.

“It started at ‘there’s not a problem,” said Shawn Weneta, a policy strategist for the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia. “And then it changed to ‘it’s a small problem, it’s only 270 but not much more.’ And we find out a few weeks later on a Friday evening that it’s more than 10 times as many.”

Weneta also said the notices being sent to impacted voters are deficient because they don’t fully explain what happened.

“It was not an admission of fault. It was not an apology that we stripped you of your constitutional rights,” Weneta said. “It was simply a registration form saying you’ve been added to the voter rolls. It was incredibly confusing.”

Youngkin has asked the state inspector general’s office to investigate the issue, but Democrats in Virginia’s congressional delegation have called on the U.S. Department of Justice to look into what happened.

The extent of the issue and the thoroughness of the fix may not be fully known until Tuesday, when voters will be going to the polls in a pivotal election that will decide which party controls the General Assembly’s two legislative chambers next year.

For any would-be voters who show up and discover an issue with their status, there’s a backstop.

Under Virginia’s relatively new same-day registration rule, potential voters who don’t register prior to Election Day or whose status is uncertain can cast a provisional ballot that will ultimately be counted if election officials can verify the voter’s eligibility.

Advocates at Wednesday’s news conference reiterated their calls for a constitutional amendment that would eliminate the gubernatorial power to restore voting rights and have those rights be automatically restored once an offender serves their time. 

“We all are here today to ask for accountability, for transparency and a process that removes this process from the hands of one individual,” said Sheba Williams, the executive director of re-entry group Nolef Turns.

Virginians unsure about whether they’re registered to vote can check their voter status at https://vote.elections.virginia.gov/VoterInformation.