Restore Your Rights

Wisteria Johnson 

If you are convicted of a felony in Virginia, you will permanently lose your right to vote. In the past, this restriction has been one of the principal tools of voter suppression, preventing thousands of people who happen to be poor from voting. Starting with Former Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, an effort has been made to remove this restriction for convicted voters who have completed their sentences and kept out of trouble. McAuliffe tried to restore voting rights for over 200,000 formerly incarcerated people by executive order, but was prevented from doing so by a court decision. He was able to restore those rights on an individual basis for 173,000 people. The current Democratic Governor, Ralph Northam, has done the same thing for thousands more.

Currently, individuals are eligible to have their rights restored by the Governor IF they have been convicted of a felony and are no longer incarcerated or under active supervision (including supervised probation or parole). Individuals who would like to have their civil rights restored can go to this website, complete the application and submit it. The review process takes one to three months. Applicants will be notified about the status of their application. There is also a phone number to call: 804-786-2441. If rights are restored, the restoration order will be mailed to the recipient. After receiving the restoration order, recipients may then complete a registration to vote application by going here.