Over a Quarter Million Virginians Excluded from Primary Election

[Washington, DC]– According to The Sentencing Project, over 260,000 justice-impacted Virginians will be banned from voting in Tuesday’s primary election. Despite recent reforms, Virginia continues to be one of the nation’s leaders in felony disenfranchisement and has the fourth highest disenfranchised population in the country behind Florida, Texas, and Tennessee.

Earlier this year, a landmark federal court decision restored voting rights to thousands of Virginians who were convicted of certain felonies that were established prior to the Civil War. This decision signified a positive development in the fight for rights restoration, but racial disparities in Virginia’s criminal legal system still prevail, causing racial injustice at the ballot box.

Black Virginians constitute nearly 52% of the prison population, yet only make up 18% of the state’s population, and Black Virginians are incarcerated at almost four times the rate of White Virginians. Additionally, research shows the vast majority of justice-impacted Virginians live in the communities where they are disenfranchised.

“Hundreds of thousands of Virginians will be locked out of a crucial election that will affect their political representation for the next four years,” said Nicole D. Porter, Senior Director of Advocacy at The Sentencing Project. “Virginia’s felony bans are an omission of justice that not only weaken our democracy but prevent justice-impacted citizens, especially Black Virginians, from successful reentry.”

“Justice-impacted Virginians are still missing the opportunity to make decisions that will impact their futures and the futures of their communities even with the recent executive order restoring rights to 66,000 Virginians,” said Sheba Williams, Founder and Executive Director of Nolef Turns, Inc. and Co-lead of Virginia Right to Vote Coalition. “To live up to its legacy as a foreground for democracy, Virginia must extend voting rights to all citizens regardless of criminal legal status.”

Later this year, Virginians will vote on a constitutional amendment that would automatically restore voting rights to formerly incarcerated citizens. Data from The Sentencing Project suggests this would restore voting rights to nearly 232,000 impacted people, marking one of the most significant expansions of democratic access in the state’s history.

During a highly contentious election season, advocates across the Commonwealth are calling for rights restoration for all Virginians to improve public safety, reduce recidivism, and address racial inequity across the state.