The sentiment in the early 1900's for disenfranchising black voters in the Commonwealth of Virginia was brutally uncompromising and plainly stated:

"This plan [which included felony disenfranchisement laws] will eliminate the darkey as a political factor in this State in less than 5 years, so that in no single county…will there be the least concern felt for the complete supremacy of the white race in the affairs of government."
– Carter Glass, Delegate – Virginia Constitutional Convention 1901–02

Shortly after implementation of the 1902 constitutional amendments, Virginia's Black electorate plummeted to less than 22,000 registered voters; only ninety days earlier Virginia's rolls reflected as many as 147,000 registered black voters. Thus, in a matter of three months Virginia's scheme to permanently disenfranchise black voters successfully purged over 85% of the black voting populace.

Blocking access to the ballot box after a felony conviction in Virginia is not in any way part of a criminal sentence–it is a "collateral consequence" dictated by state law. In essence, people with felony convictions lose access to voting because of the intersection of two systems–the election law system and the criminal justice system. Both systems have been used independently to discriminate against people of color for much of American history.