Nearly six million people will be barred from voting in elections this November due to having felony convictions on their records.
Heavyweights in the political world have weighed in on this topic, including former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, who calls for voting rights to be reinstated immediately after someone serves their sentence.
In all but four states, felons are denied the right to vote but have this right restored after completing certain requirements, such as completing a prison term, probation, parole or all three. Virginia is among the states that permanently takes away the right to vote unless the governor makes a special order. Last month the state made headlines when Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe restored the right to vote to nearly 13,000 felons. He was continuing the pattern of previous Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell, who during his term altered state policy to automatically restore voting rights to non-violent felons who had completed their sentences, and met certain other conditions.
