Virginia Democrat Governor Candidate Touts Endorsement From Group That Committed Voter Fraud, Supports Defunding Police

Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe recently touted the endorsement of an organization previously involved in voter fraud and which advocates for defunding the police and abolishing U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

On July 20, McAuliffe tweeted that he was “proud” to receive the endorsement of New Virginia Majority (NVM), a left-wing organization claiming to advocate for “democracy, justice, and progress.” As Fox News reported, however, the group openly advocates for defunding the police and abolishing prisons and ICE. On June 4, 2020, the group tweeted: “Defund the police, fund Black futures.” On March 26, it tweeted an article with a quote saying, “Policing has never been an effective response to violence because the police are agents of white supremacy.”

“New Virginia Majority has also tweeted their support of abolishing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement and prisons, even going as far as to call incarceration ‘a human rights violation,’” Fox reported.

Christian Martinez, a spokesperson for McAuliffe’s Republican opponent, Glenn Youngkin, told Fox that McAuliffe’s policies and appreciation of this endorsement show he is not serious about crime.

“Virginia’s murder rate is at a 20-year high, and Terry McAuliffe is embracing the far-left’s efforts to defund the police, let more violent criminals out of prison, and create even more chaos in our communities,” Martinez told the outlet in a statement late last month. “Terry McAuliffe will make Virginia less safe.”

Fox also included a statement from the Virginia Police Benevolent Association (VPBA) Board of Directors, who said: “Terry McAuliffe has made defunding and demoralizing police a cornerstone of his campaign, and recent endorsements from pro-‘defund the police’ organizations like NARAL and New Virginia Majority confirm that.”

“Not only are these endorsements an affront to our brothers and sisters in blue, they signal to Virginia voters everywhere that Terry McAuliffe is not concerned with making our communities safer,” the VPBA continued.

In addition to advocating against police, ICE, and prisons, NVM was also caught up in a voter fraud scandal back in 2016. An employee “forged a number of voter registration forms by inventing applicants,” according to Patch. The Associated Press estimated that the employee forged between 10 and 100 registration forms.

McAuliffe was the governor of Virginia in 2016, and worked with NVM to expand voting rights to felons, as The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported:

New Virginia Majority collaborated with Gov. Terry McAuliffe this year during his push to expand voting rights for felons who have completed their sentences. The group was given advance warning of McAuliffe’s April announcement that he was restoring rights to more than 200,000 ex-offenders. At the governor’s news conference, the group had representatives in the crowd ready to start registering would-be voters.

The Times-Dispatch also reported in 2016 that the names of dead people were used on voter application forms in Harrisonburg, Virginia. A man working with a member of the Democratic Party was eventually convicted of the fraud.

Less than a year later, then- Gov. McAuliffe attempted to repeal Virginia’s photo ID law for voting. Democrats would eventually accomplish his goal in 2020, after McAuliffe was out of office.

A spokesperson for Youngkin’s campaign provided a statement to The Daily Wire:

Glenn Youngkin will restore Virginia’s photo ID law and make sure it is easy for every eligible person to vote and harder to cheat. Terry McAuliffe opposes requiring a photo ID to vote, which undermines the integrity of our elections and makes it easier to cheat.

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