A 124-Year-Old Voting Ban Designed to Silence Black Virginians Is Finally Gone
While Democrats took control of both chambers of Congress, governors’ mansions, and state legislatures across the country, Virginia overturned its “Jim Crow-era lifetime ban” on voting for people with prior felony convictions. Voters approved a ballot amendment that restores voting rights to people with felony convictions immediately upon their release, along with two other ballot […]
A Virginia ballot amendment, approved by voters, has finally lifted a 124-year-old voting ban that targeted Black Virginians. The Jim Crow-era law, enacted in 1902, barred anyone convicted of a felony from voting for life. This provision was passed by a white majority in the Virginia General Assembly, with the explicit goal of disenfranchising Black voters.
Today, only three states, Virginia, Iowa, and Kentucky, still retain this discriminatory law. As of February 2026, the Sentencing Project reported that over 250,000 Virginians were barred from voting due to this ban. Unhoused individuals face significant hurdles in casting their votes, including strict voter registration guidelines, maintaining up-to-date documentation, and navigating physical access to polling sites.
In response to this legal victory, former Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin reinstated the lifetime ban on voting for those with felony convictions in 2023, but Democratic Governor Abigail Spanberger reversed it. This restoration of voting rights comes amid growing concerns over criminalization practices targeting homeless individuals, who are disproportionately Black and already facing systemic disparities.
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