Governor Abigail Spanberger announced today that her administration has restored voting rights for 100,000 formerly incarcerated Virginians since she took office in January. Speaking at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., to commemorate the anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington, Governor Spanberger underscored the fundamental importance of every person having a voice in American democracy.
Virginia is one of only three states where the constitution permanently disenfranchises citizens with past felony convictions, leaving the restoration of these rights entirely to the Governor's discretion. Governor Spanberger called this system "a shameful relic of Virginia’s Jim Crow past," asserting her belief that those who have served their time deserve the dignity of full participation in democracy. She previously announced 66,000 restorations six months into her term, updating the figure to 100,000 as of yesterday afternoon.
The Governor reflected on Virginia's significant progress in civil rights, noting the election of a record number of Black legislators and women, the state's first Black Speaker of the House, and the nation's first Muslim woman to statewide office as Lieutenant Governor. She also mentioned the election of Virginia's first Black Attorney General in 2025 and her own election as the first woman Governor.
Despite these advancements, Spanberger warned that the struggle is not over, citing recent Supreme Court decisions, state-level efforts to restrict voting, and a President who "continues to lie — repeatedly, verifiably, shamelessly — about the results of an election he lost." She urged Virginians to vote "yes" this November on a constitutional amendment to ensure automatic voter restoration in the future, emphasizing that "the right to vote is about more than a ballot — it is about whether we believe every person should have a voice in our democracy."