Virginia’s rules on felon voting rights will soon change : NPR

RICHMOND, Virginia. — Tati King says she wants to set an example for her grandchildren about the importance of making sure their voices are heard.

That's why King, a 54-year-old man who lives in Alexandria, Virginia, is suing Virginia election officials in federal court to restore his voting rights.

“I want them to see that their grandfather was on the right side for once in his life,” he said.

King lost his voting rights in the state due to a 2018 drug conviction. He served 11 months in prison and is now challenging a Virginia constitutional rule that automatically disenfranchises anyone if convicted of a felony. The Constitution gives the governor the exclusive power to restore these rights.

According to the data, more than 300,000 Virginians are currently unable to vote due to this policy documents in King's lawsuit, which is just one of the ways Virginia's voter restoration system could soon change.

Virginia's new governor, Democrat Abigail Spanberger, is expected to make changes, and a proposed constitutional amendment could make the reinstatement process automatic after someone completes their sentence.

What makes Virginia stand out?

Virginia is one of three states where only the governor can restore voting rights to people convicted of felonies.

And the governors of two other states, Iowa and Kentucky, have signed orders to automate the process for most people convicted of felonies. according to the Brennan Center for Justicewhich keeps track of voting rules.

Virginia's current governor, Republican Glenn Youngkin, has reversed the efforts of his last three predecessors – a Republican and two Democrats – who largely made the restoration process automatic. He introduced a system of individual review that resulted in far fewer people getting their voting rights back.

Yankin's protocol has sparked lawsuits and questions about the criteria he uses to make decisions. It also opened up questions of transparency.

“This has been difficult under the current administration because in the past we have tried to help people understand the process and figure out what their status is and what they can do to regain their right to vote,” said Rebecca Green, a law professor at William & Mary University. “But it was a very low information environment.”

Yankin's office said it is appropriate to review each application individually. They said Youngkin's decisions are made after reviewing all information, including the nature of someone's felony conviction, whether a weapon was used and whether legal fees have been paid.

The King's Case

King's lawsuit argues that the state's disenfranchisement policy violates the Virginia Readmission Act of 1870, which allowed Virginia to regain representation in Congress after the Civil War.

In exchange for Virginia's readmission, the state was prohibited from adding laws that would deprive people of the right to vote, except for those who had been convicted of a crime that was considered a common law felony at the time.

These 1870 felonies include crimes such as murder and manslaughter, but not drug-related crimes like the one King was convicted of.

“Virginia is one of the few states where we still have to jump through hoops and obstacles to have someone tell you, 'OK, now we'll see you,'” King said. “I think the laws are draconian, I think they’re archaic and they should be changed.”

The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia and other groups helped King push the cause forward.

Vishal Agraharkar, senior attorney for the ACLU of Virginia working on King's case, said thousands of Virginians convicted of felonies could have their voting rights restored if the case is successful.

“Virginia has been illegally disenfranchising people, and Black people have been disproportionately the victims of this post-Civil War disenfranchisement for over 100 years,” Agraharkar said. “We hope we can leave the legacy of Jim Crow behind.”

Civil liberties advocates have often pointed to the disproportionate impact of felon disenfranchisement on black people.

Report for 2024 The Sentencing Project, which advocates for crime responses that minimize incarceration, said about 4 million Americans have lost their voting rights because of a felony conviction. This included one in every 22 eligible black voters, more than three times the rate of other voters.

Big changes are on the horizon

While King awaits a ruling that could change Virginia's disenfranchisement practices, Spanberger is expected to change Youngkin's rights restoration process once she takes office in January.

The Governor-elect has vowed to ensure that all eligible Virginians who have served prison terms will have their voting rights restored.

Voters could take it out of the governor's hands entirely if they approve a proposed constitutional amendment that would automatically restore people's voting rights when they are released from prison.

To place an amendment on the ballot, the state Legislature must pass the proposal in successive legislative sessions.

The Democratic-led General Assembly has already passed the measure once, and after Democrats expanded their majority in the House of Delegates earlier this month, the proposal is expected to be on the state ballot during next November's midterm elections.

Agraharkar, the ACLU attorney, said he hopes King's lawsuit and the constitutional amendment will usher in a new era of voter access.

“Both of these efforts can work together to really make a big difference, hopefully in the coming year, to really make a big impact on felony disenfranchisement in Virginia, and hopefully this will become a thing of the past,” he said.