Question 3: Right to vote and restoration of voting rights (constitutional amendment)

Official plain English statement

Present Law Virginia's Constitution currently provides that a person who is convicted of any felony loses the right to vote for the rest of their life unless the Governor of Virginia takes administrative action to restore that specific person’s right to vote. This is the only means of getting back the right to vote after a felony conviction. The current constitutional provision also imposes a broad restriction, while using outdated terminology, on voting by persons found to be incapacitated. A person who is determined by a court to be incapacitated, regardless of the kind of incapacity, loses the right to vote, and only a court can restore the person’s right to vote later. Proposed Law The proposed amendment enshrines in the Constitution the fundamental right of all qualified persons in the Commonwealth to vote. Two exceptions to this right are for persons who are serving a sentence of incarceration for a felony conviction and persons who are determined by a court to not understand the act of voting. Such right cannot otherwise be restricted by laws. Under the proposed amendment, a person who is convicted of a felony loses the right to vote during their period of incarceration. Once released from incarceration, the person gets back the right to vote without needing to apply for restoration by the Governor. The proposed amendment also requires a specific finding by a court that a person does not understand the act of voting in order for that person’s right to vote to be taken away. With the right to vote, a person also has the right to be a juror, the right to be elected to an office, and the right to be a notary public.