Advancement Project Releases Civil Rights Restoration Guide for Virginia
December 5, 2011
We are pleased to announce the release of our updated “Virginia Civil Rights Restoration Guide.” The most current guide follows a version released in 2008 designed to help people convicted of felonies restore their civil rights. Virginia is one of only four states in the country whose laws forever strip individuals’ civil rights upon a felony conviction, including their right to vote, unless individually restored by the Governor. In 2004, Jeff Manza and Christopher Uggen’s study, Locked out: Felon Disenfranchised and American Democracy, estimated that 387,000 Virginians had been stripped of their rights to vote, run for public office, serve on a jury, and serve as a public notary.
The 37-page restoration guide contains step-by-step instructions on how to determine eligibility and how to apply directly to the Governor for restoration or petition the court for initial review. It also contains application forms, criminal code reference tables, public notary information, and instructions on how to obtain or correct identification. A Spanish version of the guide will be available in the coming weeks.
Advancement Project is publishing an updated version of the guide to assist disenfranchised people, their families and friends, community leaders, and volunteers with navigating the restoration process. It is the first of a series of community tools offered by Advancement Project to support community members’ efforts to restore their civil rights. As a supplement to the guide, Advancement Project will also offer training for community groups on how to undergo the process starting in January 2012.
We encourage community members and local partners to access an electronic version of the guide at http://www.advancementproject.org/digital-library/publications/virginia-.... If you would like to inquire about hard-copies of the guide, please contact Richael Faithful at (202) 728-9557, ext. 339.
Filed under Voters with Felony Convictions, Felony Re-enfranchisement, Virginia
