Overview
- The governor’s office announced on Friday that it has restored civil and voting rights for 66,085 people with past felony convictions since Spanberger took office in January.
- Spanberger re-established an online, streamlined application system, removed questions added under the prior administration, and directed the Secretary of the Commonwealth to review each case while working with law enforcement to verify eligibility.
- The total is far larger than the number restored under former Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who required individualized applications and restored fewer than 10,000 people during his term.
- Those restored regain the right to vote, serve on juries, run for public office, and become notaries public, though it is not yet clear how many pending voter registration applications are included in the announced total.
- Spanberger framed the action to encourage a Nov. 3 constitutional referendum that would automatically restore voting rights on release; Democrats and voting-rights groups praised the move while conservative outlets and Youngkin allies criticized it.