Virginia is one of three states where people with felony convictions are permanently barred from voting unless the governor restores their rights individually. A federal lawsuit citing a Reconstruction-era law and the prospect of a new Democratic governor are raising the possibility of major changes. Lawmakers have also advanced a proposed constitutional amendment that would ease restoration.
In Virginia, the state constitution imposes a lifetime ban on voting for anyone convicted of a felony, and restoration of those rights is possible only at the discretion of the governor. According to court filings in an ongoing federal lawsuit, this policy affects more than 300,000 residents with felony convictions.
One of the plaintiffs in that case is Tati King, a 54-year-old Alexandria resident who was convicted of felony drug possession in 2018. Court papers state that his conviction triggered Virginia’s disenfranchisement provision, which bars people with felony records from voting unless their civil rights are restored by the governor or another appropriate authority. King has said he wants to challenge the system in part to set an example for his grandchildren, telling NPR that he wants them to see him “on the right side of things for once in his life.”(reuters.com)
The lawsuit, backed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia, argues that Virginia’s disenfranchisement scheme violates the federal Virginia Readmission Act of 1870. That law, enacted when Congress restored Virginia’s representation after the Civil War, allowed the state to strip voting rights only for offenses that were felonies at common law at the time, such as murder or manslaughter. The plaintiffs contend that modern crimes like drug possession were not treated as such in 1870 and therefore should not result in the loss of voting rights.(reuters.com)
ACLU of Virginia attorney Vishal Agraharkar and other advocates say the policy has a disproportionate impact on Black Virginians and reflects the legacy of Jim Crow–era efforts to limit Black political power. Nationally, an estimated 4 million Americans cannot vote because of felony convictions, according to a 2024 report from The Sentencing Project. That analysis found that about one in every 22 voting-age Black Americans has lost the right to vote due to a felony conviction, a rate more than three times that of non-Black Americans.(sentencingproject.org)
Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin’s administration reviews applications for rights restoration on an individual basis, after his office moved away from broader, more automatic restoration policies used by previous governors. Voting rights groups and some legal scholars have criticized the current process as opaque and difficult to navigate. Rebecca Green, a professor at William & Mary Law School, told NPR that the state’s approach has created what she called a “very low information environment” for people trying to find out whether or how they can regain the vote. Youngkin’s office has previously said it considers factors such as the nature of the conviction, any involvement of firearms and whether court-ordered obligations have been met when deciding restoration petitions.(apnews.com)
Change could be on the horizon. Democrat Abigail Spanberger is running to succeed Youngkin, who is term-limited, in the November 2025 gubernatorial election. Spanberger has said she supports restoring voting rights to people who have completed their sentences, signaling a likely policy shift if she wins. At the same time, Democratic lawmakers have advanced a proposed constitutional amendment that would make rights restoration significantly easier. The General Assembly, under Democratic control, approved resolutions this year to change how Virginia restores voting rights to people with felony convictions, part of a broader package of rights-related amendments.(apnews.com)
Under Virginia’s amendment process, the proposal must pass the legislature again in a subsequent session after an intervening election before it can go to voters for final approval. If lawmakers sign off a second time, the measure could appear on the ballot in the latter half of the decade, depending on timing and legislative action. Advocates, including Agraharkar, say both the lawsuit and the constitutional effort have the potential to drastically reduce felony disenfranchisement in the state and eventually make Virginia’s current system a “relic of the past,” as he told NPR.