Voting Rights Restoration Efforts in Virginia

January 13, 2008
Voting Rights & Elections
Restoring Voting Rights

Current Felony Disenfranchisement Laws 

The Virginia Constitution disenfranchises people with felony convictions for life.

Executive advocacy

On April 11, 2010, the Washington Post reported that Governor McDonnell (sworn in Jan. 2010) will require people with felony convictions to submit an essay outlining their contributions to society since their release. View the letter. It is still unclear if the procedure will be implemented. On April 20, 2010, the ACLU, the Brennan Center and The Sentencing Project wrote a letter to Governor McDonnell urging him to abandon the essay and implement some changes that would streamline the restoration process.

In December 2009, the Brennan Center worked closely with local Virginia allies in an advocacy and outreach campaign to persuade Governor Kaine to issue an executive order automatically restoring voting rights to people who have completed their sentence.  The Brennan Center's research has found that the Governor has the legal authority to issue such an executive order.  Erika Wood published an op-ed in the Richmond Times-Dispatch on the issue. Unfortunately, Governor Kaine left office without issuing an executive order.

The Brennan Center participated in a similar effort when Governor Warner left office. The Brennan Center drafted a letter urging this action. Governor Warner left office on January 14, 2006, without issuing such an order, but efforts to restore voting rights in Virginia continue in the legislature, the governor’s office, and the public arena.

Legislative advocacy 

2009. In January 2009, a bill was introduced in the Senate that would grant the Virginia General Assembly the authority to restore voting rights to people with non-violent felony convictions who have completed their sentence.  The Brennan Center teamed up with Carl Wicklund, Executive Director of the American Probation and Parole Association (APPA), in support of the legislation. Mr. Wicklund submitted letters on the behalf of the APPA to Delegates Mark Cole, Frank Hargrove, and Riley Ingram.