To the Editor:

Re “Virginia Felons Get Back Votes” (front page, April 23):

Several experiences I had running correctional systems convinced me that Gov. Terry McAuliffe of Virginia was right to restore voting rights to those convicted of felonies and that other policy makers should follow suit.

When I ran Washington’s juvenile justice agency, some of the youths in our facilities were eligible to vote because they were over 18. We held a mayoral debate in the Oak Hill Youth Center, and the young people, who moderated and asked all the questions, took the process very seriously, discussing the election for weeks before and after. Many voted by absentee ballot in that election.

When I was commissioner of New York City probation, people under our supervision were eligible to vote, and we actively encouraged them to do so, providing voter registration materials and instructing probation officers to encourage registration when the deadline was approaching.

Both jurisdictions were overwhelmingly Democratic, so this had nothing to do with partisan politics. But the civic engagement of those under our supervision was palpable. Our staff came to see those in their charge as citizens engaged in their civic duty rather than merely criminals to be watched.