“Virginia’s government has blatantly broken the law for more than a century by disenfranchising everyone with a felony conviction, disproportionately affecting Black and Brown Virginians,” said ACLU-VA Senior Supervising Attorney Vishal Agraharkar.

"Amending Virginia’s constitution is a vital part of shoring up our rights here at home and putting them firmly out of reach of partisan politics," said ACLU-VA Executive Director Mary Bauer.

"Gov. Youngkin’s Executive Order 53 is not about keeping Virginia elections fair: it’s about wrongfully purging eligible voters and scapegoating Virginia’s immigrant communities," said ACLU-VA Policy Director Chris Kaiser.

“In the face of federal attacks on our civil rights and civil liberties, Virginians have the opportunity to elect leaders who will shore up our rights here at home,” said ACLU-VA Executive Director Mary Bauer.

“Some of the most pernicious attempts to suppress the voting rights of Black citizens trace back to the Civil War, but they have consequences that persist to this day,” said ACLU of Virginia Senior Supervising Attorney Vishal Agraharkar.

The effort to enshrine automatic restoration of rights into Virginia's constitution successfully passed this year's legislative session today.The amendment must pass again in next year’s legislative session before heading to the ballot for a statewide vote in November 2026.

"Protecting Virginians’ rights will require amending Virginia’s constitution. Today was the first step of this legislative session in a multi-year process, one that will culminate in Virginians themselves voting on whether to enshrine core civil rights safely out of reach of partisan politics."

“Every eligible individual should be able to access the right to vote in order to participate in democracy that affects every aspect of their lives.” said Sheba Williams, Founder and Executive Director of Nolef Turns Inc.

“Enshrining our civil rights and civil liberties in Virginia’s constitution would mean no matter what happens at the federal level, Virginians’ rights would be as secure as possible," said ACLU-VA Executive Director Mary Bauer. "We’ll be working to do just that with three constitutional amendments."