Virginia Gov. Spanberger clears way for 66,000 former felons to vote in midterms

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger announced Friday that her office has restored voting rights to 66,085 Virginians with past felony convictions since her administration began.

Virginia is one of three states whose constitutions permanently disenfranchise former felons, Spanberger’s office said, leaving the restoration of rights to the governor’s sole discretion. Spanberger, a Democrat who was elected in November, has restored the former felons’ rights to vote, serve on a jury, run for public office and become a notary public.

Virginians will head to the polls this November not only to elect a new slate of representatives but also to vote on a constitutional amendment that would automatically restore voting rights to felons once they complete their sentences, her office noted.

“By giving these Virginians back their ability to make an impact at the local, state, and national levels, we are empowering our neighbors to take hold of their second chance,” the governor said in a statement. “This fall, voters can cast their ballots for Virginia to no longer strip so many of our neighbors of their fundamental rights – a shameful relic of our Jim Crow past. I hope Virginians will join me in voting yes.”

Former Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, rolled back the automatic restoration process used by his predecessors, instead reviewing each application on a case-by-case basis, news reports said.

John Fortier, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, told Heartlander News that Spanberger’s move is a return to the streamlined voting rights restoration process that existed before Youngkin.

“Some argue that the restoration of voting rights for felons might benefit Democrats, but I think the case is less clear that it will have a political benefit for either side,” said Fortier, who focuses on Congress, the Electoral College and elections.

Aside from Virginia, Iowa and Kentucky are the only states whose constitutions permanently bar felons from voting.

Additionally, Spanberger advanced a redistricting referendum earlier this year that likely would have flipped four U.S. House seats to Democrats. Virginia voters approved the measure by a narrow margin before the state’s highest court ruled the gerrymander unconstitutional.

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