ACCORDING to Article II, Section I of the Constitution of Virginia, a person who is tried and convicted of a felony offense automatically loses the right to vote: âNo person who has been convicted of a felony shall be qualified to vote unless his civil rights have been restored by the Governor or other appropriate authority.â Thatâs the case in most of the United States. Convicted felons retain their right to vote only in the District of Columbia, Maine and Vermont. The thinking behind this policy is simple: Individuals who refuse to obey the law should not have a say in selecting lawmakers. And a person who exhibits contempt for society does not deserve its rewards, one of them being the franchise. Losing the right to vote is part of their punishment.