Virginia Restores Voting Rights for Felons

GRAND RAPIDS, MI. - Virginia voters approved a constitutional amendment on November 3, 2026, to restore voting rights for individuals convicted of felonies. This ballot initiative, known as Question 3, ends the state's lifetime ban on voting for felony offenders, which was among the most restrictive in the nation.

The newly approved amendment automatically restores voting rights to individuals upon their release from incarceration, provided they complete their sentence. Previously, felony convictions in Virginia resulted in a lifelong loss of voting rights unless the governor took specific administrative action. The amendment establishes a fundamental right to vote for qualified citizens and garnered approximately 55% of the vote.

Virginia's history of felony disenfranchisement began during the Jim Crow, with the 1902 constitution significantly expanding the list of disenfranchising crimes to restrict Black voters. This policy disproportionately affected Black Virginians, denying an estimated one out of every 10 Black Virginians the right to vote due to a felony conviction. A federal court ruled in January 2026 that Virginia could only disenfranchise individuals for common law felonies from 1870, narrowing the list to murder, voluntary manslaughter, and involuntary manslaughter.

In July 2026, Governor Abigail Spanberger took executive action, restoring voting rights to 66,085 formerly incarcerated Virginians.