Felony Convictions and Voter Eligibility

In January of 2026, a federal court ruled that, under the federal Virginia Readmission Act passed after the Civil War, individuals convicted of a felony can only lose their voting rights if the offense committed is a felony recognized at common law in 1870.  

Prior to the court order, Virginia law required that all individuals convicted of any felony lose their voting rights until their rights are restored by the Governor. The court order can be found here.

Who does this court order impact?

If you have a felony conviction and your offense is not an applicable common law felony from 1870, you are now eligible to register to vote and do not need to apply for restoration of rights by the Governor prior to registering to vote.

What are the applicable common law felonies?

The Office of the Attorney General has reviewed the relevant laws in the Code of Virginia and identified:

• Crimes that correlate to an applicable common law felony in 1807.
• Crimes that may correlate to an applicable common law felony in 1870 and require additional review by the Office of the Attorney General.

You may review the evaluated offenses using the documents below. (Please note, these documents contain references to crimes that some may find explicit or offensive.)

Virginia Crimes Applicable to Common Law Felonies in 1870.pdf

Virginia Crimes Requiring Additional Evaluation.pdf

What if my felony correlates to an applicable common law felony?

Individuals convicted of a felony that correlates to an applicable common law felony are only eligible to register to vote if they have their rights restored by the Governor. For more information about the restoration of rights process, visit the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s website. https://www.restore.virginia.gov/restoration-of-rights-process/

What if my felony does not correlate to an applicable common law felony?

If you’ve been convicted of a felony in Virginia and it is not provided on one of the lists above, you may be eligible to register to vote without restoration of rights by the Governor.

What if a felony conviction requires additional evaluation or it was not a Virginia conviction?

If your felony conviction requires additional evaluation or it was not a Virginia state conviction, your local general registrar will send you a supplemental form for more information after you submit a voter registration application.

The Office of the Attorney General will review the information provided and determine whether any felony conviction identified in the form corresponds to an applicable common law felony.