Online Tool and Hotline for Information on Changes to Virginia's Restoration of Rights Policy
Revive My Vote provides information via online tool and telephone
Today Governor Terry McAuliffe announced that all Virginians with felony convictions who have completed their sentences (including completing parole) are now eligible to register to vote. Virginians with felony convictions no longer need to apply to the governor for their rights to be restored. The governor’s announcement impacts hundreds of thousands of Virginians—by some estimates as many as 450,000 Virginians who will now be able to register to vote without undertaking any steps to restore their voting rights post conviction.
Revive My Vote, a collaboration of the Election Law Program at William & Mary Law School and the Williamsburg, Va., Bar Association, has launched an online learning tool to help Virginians understand today’s announcement and what to do next. The new online tool is easy to use, easy to access, and free. You can find it at www.revivemyvote.com. Creation of the tool was made possible by a grant from the Knight News Challenge.
Revive My Vote’s Executive Director Mark Listes, who will graduate from the Law School in May, explained that “it is Revive My Vote’s goal to ensure that Virginians be able to vote, regardless of how much they knew about voting prior to this announcement.”
Professor Rebecca Green, co-director of the Election Law Program and co-founder of Revive My Vote, said the group’s hotline also can provide information about the governor’s announcement and what it means for you or someone in your family. The call is toll-free, and all services are free and confidential. Call 1-844-932-8683 (1-844-WE2-VOTE).
Revive My Vote has worked for the past two years helping Virginians with prior felony convictions navigate the voting rights restoration process.
About William & Mary Law School
Thomas Jefferson founded William & Mary Law School in 1779 to train leaders for the new nation. Now in its third century, America's oldest law school continues its historic mission of educating citizen lawyers who are prepared both to lead and to serve.