Spanberger Restores Voting Rights for 66,085 Virginians, Pushes for Automatic Restoration

Gov. Abigail Spanberger announced that in about six months she has restored voting rights to 66,085 Virginians who lost them for felony convictions, criticizing her predecessor's case-by-case approach and saying the state should automatically restore rights after sentence completion. Her administration says the restoration process has been reshaped, removing a requirement to prove payment of fines and proactively identifying eligible former felons, and she urged a constitutional amendment to take the power out of the governor's hands. The issue stems from Virginia's disenfranchisement rules and a federal ruling narrowing the pool of eligible offenses; Virginians whose rights are restored must still register to vote, with the Aug. 4 primaries having passed registration (though same-day registration with provisional ballots remains available).