A defiant Virginia Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced Monday that he again restored the voting rights of about 13,000 felons who have served their sentences, after his previous attempt was thwarted by Republican lawmakers and the state Supreme Court.

Virginia's highest court ruled in July that governors cannot restore rights en masse, but must consider each offender on a case-by-case basis.

That ruling invalidated a sweeping executive order issued by McAuliffe in April that had given back the voting rights of more than 200,000 felons who completed their sentences.

His office complied with the state Supreme Court's directive, at least technically: A computerized 'autopen' signed each of the 13,000 letters.

POLITICO: Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe is a longtime Clinton pal who has restored the voting rights of 13,000 felons who live in predominantly Democratic strongholds, delivering a potentially decisive pool of new voters to Hillary Clinton in November

HELPING AN OLD FRIEND? McAuliffe was Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman when she ran for president in 2008; most of the newly re-enfranchised felons are expected to vote for her

McAuliffe, a former Democratic National Committee chairman and elite fundraiser, also chaired Bill Clinton's 1996 re-election campaign and then took the same job with Hillary Clinton's failed 2008 presidential bid.

He drew howls when his initial order was seen as an attempt to create a new class of Democratic voters just in time to help Hillary Clinton in November.

The governor blasted the court Monday for ignoring the 'the clear text of the Constitution' and accused Republicans of trying to suppress voters' voices.

But he pledged to move forward, saying he won't let the felon disenfranchisement 'destroy lives and families, and destabilize communities.'

'These individuals are gainfully employed. They send their children and their grandchildren to our schools. They shop in our grocery stores and they pay taxes. And I am not content to condemn them for eternity as inferior second-class citizens,' McAuliffe said during an event at the Virginia Civil Rights Memorial.

FRIEND OF BILL: McAuliffe was chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2001 to 2005, and chaired Bill Clinton's 1996 re-election campaign. The two men are seen in a 2000 golf game with Canada's then-Prime Minster Jean Chretien

CLOSE CONTACT: Hillary Clinton and Terry McAuliffe hung out after a Clinton rally in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia last year

Rights-restoration letters were mailed Friday to the roughly 13,000 people who had registered to vote before their rights were taken away by the court, McAuliffe said.

His administration processed each felon's paperwork individually to comply with the ruling, he said.

Moving forward, McAuliffe will individually restore the rights of other felons who meet the requirements, giving priority to those who request it, he said.

The orders also allow the felons to serve on a jury, run for public office and become a notary public.

A voter-registration application will be included in each of the rights-restoration letters sent to felons, McAuliffe said. The deadline to register to vote in Virginia for November's election is Oct. 17.

The Virginia Supreme Court's 4-3 decision striking down his executive order was a significant blow to McAuliffe, who called felon disenfranchisement a vestige of the state's Jim Crow past because it disproportionately impacts African-Americans.

Republicans have accused McAuliffe of trying to add more Democrats to the voter rolls to aid presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in November, but McAuliffe maintains his motivations weren't political.

MONEY MAN: More political operative than politician, McAuliffe was Bill Clinton's campaign chairman and top fundraiser when he ran for re-election in 1996

The administration recently released the names and addresses of the 13,000 who had registered, and most of them live in urban areas that typically vote Democratic.

GOP House Speaker William Howell, who sued McAuliffe over the order, said lawmakers will carefully review the process McAuliffe laid out Monday to ensure it meets the requirements set by the court.

'From the beginning, we have done nothing more than hold the governor accountable to the constitution and the rule of law,' he said.

The Supreme Court's decision vindicated our efforts and we will continue to fulfill our role as a check on the excesses of executive power,' Howell said in a statement.

Kenneth Williams, whose voter registration was canceled after the court ruling, said he looks forward to getting his letter saying his rights have once again been restored.

The 67-year-old, who served 10 years on a robbery charge and now runs a prisoner re-entry program, said he's eager to not only vote himself, but help to register others whose rights were once stripped away.