The Virginia administration has restored voting rights to more than 66,000 individuals following a change in state policy. This move has added 66,085 new voters to the state's rolls since the current administration took office in January.
Beyond the right to vote, these individuals have also regained the ability to serve on juries, run for public office, and become notaries public. The initiative aims to empower citizens to participate in local, state, and national governance.
Virginia is one of only three states that currently strips convicted felons of their right to vote. The previous administration had shifted away from automatic restoration, opting instead to evaluate applications on a case-by-case basis, which resulted in approximately 10,000 rights being restored.
The governor has urged citizens to support a constitutional amendment that would automate the restoration of voting rights for all convicted felons upon completion of their sentences. The current policy of stripping these rights has been described as a relic of the state's past.
In a separate development, the state has paused the removal of noncitizen voters from the voting rolls 90 days prior to the upcoming election. This pause follows a court settlement regarding the process for identifying and removing noncitizens.
Records indicate that more than 6,500 declared non-citizen voter registrations were removed from the rolls between 2024 and June 2026. The recent settlement prevents further removals during the critical 90-day window leading up to federal elections.
