Historically, if a person received a felony conviction in Virginia, their rights to vote/jury duty/run for public office were revoked. In 2023, several residents sued in federal court to change that — and earlier this year, a federal judge ruled in their favor and ordered Virginia restore voting rights to many others. But, as VPM News Reporter Dean Mirshahi has followed the case, it's taken the commonwealth months to comply with both the letter and spirit of that federal order. On Sept. 15, the Department of Elections changed its felony re-enfranchisement policy — prohibiting only Virginians with murder or manslaughter convictions. Here, Dean explains how he broke this story. Early voting opened on Sept. 18. Our award-winning work is made possible with your support. Visit vpm.org/givenow to support local journalism. #VotingRights, #Virginia, #vpmnews #publicmedia