Full Breakdown
Virginia Governor’s Restoration Letters Sent to Deceased Felons
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Restoration Letters Sent to Deceased Felons
In July, Governor Abigail Spanberger announced that her office had restored voting and other civil rights to roughly 66,000 Virginians with felony convictions. Shortly thereafter, letters bearing Spanberger’s signature and that of Secretary of the Commonwealth Candi Mundon-King were mailed to families of individuals whose records indicated they were deceased. One notice, dated July 1, was posted by Virginia resident Howard “Skip” Lambert and addressed to his late daughter, who died in 2024. Another notice arrived on September 29, 2026 and was shared by Peggie Young, who said it named her friend Peter Alan Breton, deceased since 2016.
Legal Background
The letters appear amid a broader ballot-access push. A 2023 federal suit, *King v. Youngkin*, challenged Virginia’s blanket felony disenfranchisement. In January, U.S. District Judge John Gibney Jr. ruled that only 11 common-law felonies listed in the Virginia Readmission Act of 1870 could trigger disenfranchisement, limiting automatic loss of voting rights to murder, voluntary manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter. The state is also preparing a constitutional amendment that would automatically restore voting rights upon release from incarceration.
Official Statements & Responses
The accompanying notice encouraged recipients to re-register via the online “Citizen’s Portal.”
Lambert warned that unscrupulous relatives could attempt to register dead voters.
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
Fox News reports that the governor’s office restored voting rights for 66,000 individuals, while the Daily Caller cites a figure of 66,085. Both numbers are presented as totals of people “formerly incarcerated” since Spanberger took office in January. No source clarifies which count is definitive, and the Department of Elections’ separate notice to roughly 235,000 Virginians adds further complexity.
Verbatim Quote
- “I don’t know what to say about this,” — Peggie Young, Virginia resident