Virginia voters repeal lifetime voting ban for felony offenders

Virginia voters approved a ballot initiative on Tuesday night to end the state's lifetime ban on voting rights for people convicted of felonies.

The measure, known as Question 3, passed with 56 percent of the vote. This change repeals a provision of the 1902 Virginia constitution that prevented former prisoners from voting unless the governor issued a specific restoration order. The move removes one of the harshest voting restrictions in the United States.

Previously, Virginia was one of 10 states that indefinitely revoked voting rights for certain felony offenses. Similar reforms occurred in Florida in 2018 and in California in 2020. Advocates for criminal justice stated that the original ban was motivated by Jim Crow era racism and unfairly punished people who had already finished their prison sentences. The passage of Question 3 follows a decade of legal battles and political shifts.

In 2016, former Governor Terry McAuliffe attempted to automatically restore rights to over 200,000 people, but a court blocked the order because it included people still in prison. Since then, the number of restorations fluctuated based on the actions of different governors. Current Governor Abigail Spanberger reported that her office has restored the rights of more than 100,000 Virginians since she took office this year.