Restoration of Rights Overview

Only Virginia and Kentucky permanently disenfranchise all felons upon conviction, requiring an act of the Governor to restore voting rights. Virginia’s disenfranchisement policy is a vestige from the Jim Crow era and was a product of the 1901 Constitutional Convention, deliberately designed to marginalize minority voters. The Governor has the authority to restore voting rights via an Executive Order to all of Virginia’s former felons. There are more than 300,000 Virginia citizens who are unfairly denied the right to vote. We support changing the current disenfranchisement policy for good by automatically restoring the voting rights of former felons when they complete their sentences.