Virginia Governor Restores Voting Rights to More Than 66,000 Residents Ahead of 2026 Referendum

Governor Abigail Spanberger announced that her administration has restored full civil rights—including voting, jury service, and eligibility for public office—to 66,085 Virginians who have completed their felony sentences. The restorations were processed individually, with the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s office coordinating verification with law-enforcement agencies.

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Virginia is one of only three states whose constitutions require a gubernatorial act to remove felony disenfranchisement. The practice dates to the 1901-02 constitutional convention, when white legislators instituted voting restrictions to suppress Black participation. Over the past decade, governors of both parties streamlined restorations, but a 2016 Virginia Supreme Court ruling forced a case-by-case approach, ending blanket executive orders. Republican Governor Bob Youngkin (2022-2026) eliminated the streamlined system, requiring individual applications and adding extra eligibility questions that critics said slowed the process.

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Her office highlighted the reinstated review process and the removal of the additional questions introduced under Youngkin. Secretary of the Commonwealth Candi Mundon King emphasized that each restoration is reviewed carefully with law-enforcement partners. House Speaker Don Scott, whose own rights were restored under a prior governor, called the move an end to “restoration of rights gridlock.”

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• Restored rights: 66,085 individuals.

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• Pending voter-registration applications for certain felony convictions remained unresolved as of the latest reporting period.

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• A 2025 Christopher Newport University poll found 63 % of registered voters support automatic restoration of voting rights after release.

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• In the 1982 statewide referendum on a similar amendment, voters rejected the proposal 63 % to 37 %.

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The restorations come roughly seven weeks before early voting begins for the 2026 midterm elections and a constitutional referendum slated for early November. The amendment would automatically restore voting rights upon release, removing the governor’s discretionary role.

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• “The right to vote is foundational to who we are as Americans. As a member of Congress, as a candidate for governor, and in the months since I took office, I have heard from many Virginians who have shared their personal stories of redemption with me — and heartfelt reflections of the moment their voting rights were restored by previous governors,” — Gov. Abigail Spanberger, guided by governor

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• “Today is an important day for the commonwealth and the more than 66,000 Virginians who now have their voting rights restored — in many cases, after waiting multiple years for a fair review,” — Mundon King

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• “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,” — Gov. Abigail Spanberger, guided by governor

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• “Today’s action is an important step forward, but it cannot be the final step,” — House Speaker Don Scott

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