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Voting After Criminal Conviction

Voting is both a fundamental right and a civic duty. However there remains one significant blanket barrier to the franchise: 5.3 million American citizens are not allowed to vote because of a criminal conviction. As many as 4 million of these people live, work, and raise families in our communities, but because of a conviction in their past they are still denied the right to vote.

Felony disenfranchisement laws in the United States are deeply rooted in the troubled history of American race relations, and the disproportionate racial impact of these laws continues to this day. Nationwide, 13% of African-American men have lost the right to vote, a rate that is seven times the national average. Given current rates of incarceration, three in ten of the next generation of African-American men across the country can expect to lose the right to vote at some point in their lifetime.

The Brennan Center works nationwide to restore the vote to people with criminal convictions. Our work, which operates on both the federal and state level, includes litigation, legislative and administrative advocacy, and public education. In 2007, Rhode Island, Florida, and Maryland all expanded the franchise for people with felony convictions.

For a state-by-state guide on felony disenfranchisement laws around the country, view our map.

• Communities of Faith Initiative

• Law Enforcement & Criminal Justice Advisory Council
• Post-Incarceration Restoration of Voting Rights
• State-Based Advocacy