The U.S. Supreme Court on 23 June declined to hear Virginia’s appeal seeking to dismiss a lawsuit that challenges the state’s lifetime ban on voting by people with felony convictions. The one-line order lets stand a Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that allowed the case to go forward, clearing the way for discovery and a potential trial in federal court. Filed in 2023 by Virginians Tati King and Toni Johnson—both disenfranchised after drug-related convictions—the class action contends that the 1869 constitutional provision violates the 1870 Virginia Readmission Act, which limited disenfranchisement to crimes that were felonies at common law at that time. Backed by the American Civil Liberties Union, the plaintiffs argue the state expanded the list of disqualifying offenses after the Civil War to suppress Black voters. Attorney General Jason Miyares had asked the justices to intervene, citing sovereign-immunity grounds, but the Court’s refusal leaves the lower-court findings intact. Virginia is one of just three U.S. states that automatically strip voting rights from all felons for life unless restored individually by the governor. The Supreme Court’s move follows its January refusal to review a similar challenge to Mississippi’s policy and keeps pressure on states with permanent disenfranchisement rules ahead of the 2026 mid-term elections.