Your right to vote comes back the day you leave prison

For more than a century, Virginia’s Constitution took away the right to vote from anyone convicted of a felony unless the governor restored it. A federal court narrowed that rule in January 2026: by fall, most people with felony convictions could register after release, while people convicted of murder, voluntary manslaughter, or involuntary manslaughter still needed the governor to act. Starting Jan. 1, 2027, release-day restoration becomes the rule for every felony conviction. Probation and parole don’t count as incarceration, so they don’t keep you from voting.

You don’t have to apply for restoration, but you do still have to register. On release day, the prison or jail must give you a voter registration form, instructions for registering by mail, online, or in person, and a document saying you were released for a specified felony conviction. If the voter system still shows you as ineligible, that document is enough for the registrar to register you. The Department of Corrections and Compensation Board will also send release information to the Department of Elections after you leave.

Del. Cia Price of Newport News carried the bill, and Sen. Mamie Locke of Hampton carried an identical Senate version. Locke began carrying versions of the constitutional amendment in 2009, building on years of work by the late Sen. Yvonne Miller. After an initial 63–34 House vote in February, the Senate passed a substitute 21–18 in March and the House accepted it 63–33. Gov. Abigail Spanberger sent back changes, which both chambers accepted on April 22, and the bill became law that day. It counted only if voters changed the state constitution, and on Nov. 3, 2026, about 56% voted yes.