The most recent iteration of this amendment, HJ 2 / SJ 2, was passed by both the Virginia House of Delegates and the Senate during the 2026 legislative session. The amendment will now appear on the ballot for a statewide vote in November 2026.
This amendment to the Virginia Constitution would establish a state constitutional right to vote for all citizens who are not incarcerated for a felony. All Virginians who had a felony conviction would have their rights restored without further paperwork as long as they are not incarcerated for a felony.
Virginians deserve a non-arbitrary voting rights restoration system, and no Virginian should be permanently disenfranchised by a prior felony conviction, particularly when they are living in their home community and have finished any time of incarceration. Currently, Virginians with felony convictions are permanently disenfranchised unless and until their right to vote is restored by the Governor through a discretionary, and often arbitrary, executive action. Employees, caregivers, religious and community leaders, taxpayers and other Virginians – even after serving their time – remain indefinitely stripped of their voice in shaping the laws and institutions that govern their lives as they navigate reintegrating into society.
This amendment would fix the deeply broken system of relegating these individuals to second-class citizenship by removing rights restoration from the sole purview and whim of the Governor, instead automatically restoring the right to vote upon completion of an individual’s term of incarceration without additional paperwork or obstacles.
Studies show that the ability to participate in the democratic process ultimately reduces rates of crime and recidivism. Voting is an opportunity for all eligible citizens to use their voice, and for citizens reentering society after incarceration, allows them the chance to become invested members of their community. Moreover, disenfranchising a person for their entire life based solely on a past mistake is simply unjust and unreasonable. Fair Elections Center believes that Virginians, and all otherwise qualified voters across the U.S., who have successfully served their time, should be able to fully rejoin civic life, and people should not be permanently defined by their past mistakes.
A voting rights restoration system that relies on objective rules and criteria – and not the discretion of a single individual in power – will benefit communities across the state.
According to a 2024 study by The Sentencing Project (a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that advocates for more humane responses to crime), an estimated 4 million Americans are ineligible to vote in 48 states (Maine and Vermont do not restrict voting based on criminal convictions) because of laws banning people with felony convictions from voting—about 1.7% of the voting-age population in the U.S.
Virginia Legislature Advances Amendment to Restore Voting Rights for Those with Prior Felony Convictions — Press Release, January 16, 2026
Virginia takes key step to end ‘overt and intended effort to block Black people from voting’ — Democracy Docket, January 16, 2026