Judge rules Virginia unlawfully denied voting rights to hundreds of thousands

[Spike CO]

 

News | Litigation | Voting | Virginia

Judge rules Virginia unlawfully denied voting rights to hundreds of thousands

By Yunior Rivas

January 22, 2026

 

A federal court ruled Thursday that Virginia’s lifetime voting ban for people with certain felony convictions violates federal law — a landmark decision that could restore voting rights to hundreds of thousands of Virginians, especially Black residents long targeted by the ban.

 

U.S. District Court Judge John Gibney, appointed by former President Barack Obama, ruled that Virginia’s constitution unlawfully strips voting rights far beyond what Congress allowed when it readmitted the state to the Union after the Civil War.

 

Full article here –

https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/judge-rules-virginia-unlawfully-denied-voting-rights-to-hundreds-of-thousands/

 

Ruling link here –

https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/king-v-youngkin-ruling-virginia.pdf