Virginia Voters Decide Question 3: Automatic Voting Rights Restoration After Release From Incarceration
Northern Virginia voters in Fairfax, Arlington and Alexandria will help decide on Tuesday whether Virginia's constitution should automatically restore voting rights when a person is released from felony incarceration, replacing restoration by the governor.
Virginia voters will decide on November 3 whether to amend the Virginia Constitution to automatically restore voting rights to people released from incarceration for felony convictions, replacing a system that places restoration under the governor's authority, according to reporting on the ballot question. The proposal is listed as Question 3 on the ballot.
If approved, the amendment would take effect January 1, 2027. It would also establish a fundamental right to vote in Virginia and narrow the circumstances under which a court can disqualify someone from voting based on mental capacity. Under the proposed text, a person would, on release, without further action required, regain all political rights, including the right to vote; restoration would not require finishing probation or parole or paying fines and restitution, and restored eligibility would not itself register anyone to vote.
A yes vote approves automatic restoration after felony incarceration; a no vote leaves the existing constitutional language in place. Signs urging yes and no votes on Virginia's three proposed constitutional amendments stood side by side at Fairfax City Hall on October 28, according to the reporting. In-person early voting in Virginia ends Saturday, October 31 — Alexandria's election office lists early voting until 5 p.m. Saturday — and Election Day is Tuesday, November 3.
