The League of Women Voters of Montgomery County is sponsoring a public event to explore the impact upon the community of the restoration of voting rights to non-violent felons and related issues of reintegration. The event will take place Thursday, October 9 at 7:30 p.m. in the Blacksburg Municipal Building, Council Chambers.

Each state has its own process of prohibiting and restoring voting rights to felons. Across the U.S. 48 states and D.C. prohibit inmates from voting while incarcerated for a felony offense. An estimated 5.3 million Americans, or one in forty-one adults, have currently or permanently lost their voting rights as a result of a felony conviction.

Virginia is one of only two states that permanently disenfranchise felons unless they successfully petition the government as individuals. There are about 300,000 disenfranchised felons in Virginia.

Features presenters at this meeting will be Prof. Mary Atwell, Dept. of Criminal Justice, Radford University; Richard Callahan, Chief Probation and Parole Officer, VA Dept. of Corrections; Tamika Akers, Community Representative; Lorna Weldon, VA Department of Rehabilitative Services; and Chet Nash, Director, Virginia CARES of the New River Valley.

The public is welcome to provide input and gain awareness of the situation. This program will be aired on public access TV. For further information contact Judy Snoke at 540 552-5273.