Thousands of disproportionately impacted Black Virginians should finally have their voting rights restored on June 1

RICHMOND, Va.— In response to a federal court order today setting a revised deadline to implement an historic ruling in King v. Youngkin to restore voting rights to thousands of disproportionately impacted Black Virginians, ACLU of Virginia Senior Supervising Attorney Vishal Agraharkar released the following statement:

“Earlier this year, the court ruled that the Commonwealth has been violating federal law for over a century by automatically taking away the right to vote from everyone with a felony conviction. Following today’s court order setting a revised deadline, thousands of disproportionately Black Virginians – who should have never been disenfranchised in the first place – will finally be able to register and vote starting June 1.

“But we know that neglecting to inform eligible voters of their rights has the same impact as legally barring them from the ballot box, so we are committed to working with the Commonwealth to implement this historic expansion of voting rights and ensure newly eligible voters know their rights have been restored. It’s past time for us to finally and formally right this wrong.”