RICHMOND, Va. — A constitutional amendment to automatically restore voting rights to people convicted of felonies upon release from incarceration has passed, the Associated Press projects.
Under Virginia's current Constitution, a person convicted of a felony loses voting rights unless those rights are restored by the governor. The amendment would instead prevent someone convicted of a felony from voting while incarcerated and automatically restore the person's voting rights upon release from incarceration.
It would also establish a fundamental right to vote for qualified voters and change the Constitution's existing provision concerning mental capacity.
Under the proposed language, a person could be prohibited from voting after being found to lack the capacity to understand the act of voting.
The question in full is below.
Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended (i) to provide for the fundamental right to vote in the Commonwealth, (ii) to revise the qualifications of voters so that a person convicted of a felony is not entitled to vote during his period of incarceration but is automatically invested with the right to vote upon release from incarceration, and (iii) to update the existing prohibition on voting by persons found to be mentally incompetent to instead apply to persons who have been found to lack the capacity to understand the act of voting?
Click here to see updated election results.
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Eat It, Virginia! with Scott and RobeyUntold with Catie Beck
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