Virginia is on track to end one of the last vestiges of Jim Crow segregation through a Constitutional Amendment that will repeal the provision permanently disenfranchising anyone with a felony conviction of the right to vote.
Originally adopted in the Constitution of 1902 alongside a suite of measures intended to undercut Black Virginians’ political power – things like poll taxes and literacy tests, which have since been abolished – this source of disenfranchisement has continued to negatively impact Virginians of color.
An estimated 260,000 citizens, made up disproportionately of Black Virginians, can’t vote today because of a prior conviction.
HJ2 passed out of the House 65-34 with Republican Del. Mike Cherry voting alongside Democrats.
SJ2 cleared the Senate floor on a party-line vote.
This measure will be on the ballot this Fall, the result of years of concerted effort to build a more just, inclusive democracy.