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More than 300,000 Virginians are unable to vote due to the state's felon disenfranchisement law.
About Felon Disfranchisement
An estimated 5.3 million qualified Americans are currently unable to vote because they live in states that disfranchise felons.
Voting laws vary from state to state, but the majority of states disfranchise some felons. On one end of the spectrum, Maine and Vermont, never take away voting rights, allowing convicted persons to vote even while incarcerated. On the other end of the spectrum, Virginia and Kentucky permanently disfranchise all felons, leaving it to the Governor to restore voting rights on an individual basis.
Why the ACLU opposes felon disfranchisement:
1) Felon disfranchisement is fundamentally unfair. Once individuals have repaid their debt to society, it stands to reason that they should be allowed to fully participate in our democracy.
2) Felon disfranchisement was intended to suppress minority voters. Felon disfranchisement, along with literacy tests and polls taxes, dates to the Jim Crow era. It still disproportionately impacts people of color.
3) Felon disfranchisement is bad public policy. Studies show that felons who do not vote are twice as likely to commit another crime as those who vote. Restoring voting rights, therefore, appears to reduce crime.
Learn more about felony disfranchisement in the United States: National ACLU
The Restore Our Vote website is a product of the ACLU of Virginia, which is working with numerous other organizations from across the state to provide information to individuals seeking to have their rights restored and to reform Virginia's felon disfranchisement law. It is intended for educational purposes only and does not contain legal advice.