Voting with felony convictions

Introduction
Historical felony disenfranchisement
U.S Supreme Court
Current landscape of felony disenfranchisement
Pros
- Pro 1: Contributing to the law-making process is an essential step in an offender’s reintegration into society.
- Pro 2: Disenfranchisement is a denial of a right and often a form of racial discrimination.
- Pro 3: Denying the vote to adults who pay taxes is unconstitutional.
Cons
- Con 1: People with felony convictions should lose their say in the law-making process because they have shown a disregard for the law.
- Con 2: Disenfranchisement reinforces the principle that voting is a right with responsibilities.
- Con 3: Far from being undemocratic, felony disenfranchisement is supported by the U.S. Constitution.
State voting laws and policies for people with felony convictions
- May lose vote permanently: 9 states
  - Alabama
  - Arizona
  - Delaware
  - Florida
  - Iowa
  - Kentucky
  - Mississippi
  - Tennessee
  - Wyoming
- Vote restored after prison, parole, or probation: 15 states
  - Louisiana
  - Nebraska
  - North Carolina
  - South Dakota
- Vote restored after prison: 23 states
  - California
  - Colorado
  - Connecticut
  - Maryland
  - Minnesota
  - Nevada
  - New Jersey
  - New York
  - Virginia
  - Washington
- Unrestricted—People with felony convictions may vote from prison: 4 U.S. jurisdictions
State-by-state: Number of people who cannot vote due to a felony conviction
Incarcerated population by type of crime committed
- Sentenced prisoners under state jurisdictions
- Sentenced prisoners under federal jurisdiction
U.S. jail, prison, parole, and probation populations
Constitutional considerations
- Eighth Amendment
- Fourteenth Amendment
- Fifteenth Amendment
- Twenty-fourth Amendment
Historical Timeline
- 1100 BC-1799
  - 1100 BC – 16th century – “Civil death” used as punishment for crime in ancient Athens, Ancient Rome, and medieval Europe
  - 1607 – 1776 – Practice of “civil death” is carried over to the British colonies in America
  - 1789 - U.S. Constitution forges a link between voting in national elections and state suffrage rules
  - April 19, 1792 - Kentucky Constitution is first among U.S. states to establish criminal disenfranchisement
  - July 9, 1793 - Vermont Constitution establishes criminal disenfranchisement
- 1800-1849
  - January 22, 1812 - Louisiana Constitution establishes criminal disenfranchisement
  - June 10, 1816 - Indiana Constitution establishes criminal disenfranchisement
  - July 7, 1817 - Mississippi Constitution establishes criminal disenfranchisement
  - October 12, 1818 - Connecticut Constitution establishes criminal disenfranchisement
  - July 5, 1819 - Alabama Constitution establishes criminal disenfranchisement
  - June 12, 1820 - Missouri Constitution establishes criminal disenfranchisement
  - August 28, 1821 - New York Constitution establishes criminal disenfranchisement
  - January 14, 1830 - Virginia Constitution establishes criminal disenfranchisement
  - November 8, 1831 - Delaware Constitution establishes criminal disenfranchisement
  - May 1834 - Tennessee Constitution establishes criminal disenfranchisement
  - December 3, 1838 - Florida Constitution establishes criminal disenfranchisement
  - November 29, 1802 - Ohio Constitution establishes criminal disenfranchisement
  - November 5, 1842 - Rhode Island Constitution establishes criminal disenfranchisement
  - June 29, 1844 - New Jersey Constitution establishes criminal disenfranchisement
  - November 5, 1845 - Louisiana Constitution ratified to bar anyone sentenced to hard labor from voting
  - August 27, 1845 - Texas Constitution establishes criminal disenfranchisement
  - August 3, 1846 - Iowa Constitution establishes criminal disenfranchisement
  - November 3, 1846 - New York Constitution ratified to bar persons convicted of “infamous” crimes from voting
  - February 1, 1848 - Wisconsin Constitution establishes criminal disenfranchisement
  - November 1849 - California Constitution establishes criminal disenfranchisement
- 1850-1949
  - June 4, 1851 - Maryland Constitution establishes criminal disenfranchisement
  - August 29, 1857 - Minnesota Constitution establishes criminal disenfranchisement
  - November 1857 - Oregon Constitution establishes criminal disenfranchisement
  - February 3, 1870 - 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution gives the vote to formerly enslaved people and prohibits racially based disenfranchisement
  - 1882 - U.S. Congress passes the Edmunds Act, banning polygamists from voting
  - 1901 - New Alabama Constitution expands criminal disenfranchisement in effort to maintain white supremacy
- 1950-1999
  - September 9, 1957 - Pres. Eisenhower signs the Civil Rights Act of 1957
  - August 6, 1965 - Pres. Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act
  - March 24, 1966 - U.S. Supreme Court rules states cannot require payment of fees as a condition to vote
  - May 24, 1966 - California Supreme Court in Otsuka v. Hite defines “infamous crimes”
  - June 13, 1967 - New York Supreme Court rules that criminal disenfranchisement is reasonable and constitutional in Green v. Board of Elections
  - November 16, 1972 - Federal appeals court argues that “constitutional concepts” should evolve along with modern concepts of justice and punishment
  - June 24, 1974 - U.S. Supreme Court rules that disenfranchising people with felony convictions does not violate the Equal Protection Clause
  - November 5, 1974 - California amends constitution to allow people with felony convictions to vote after completion of incarceration and parole
  - April 22, 1980 - U.S. Supreme Court rules that purposeful racial discrimination must be evident for a disenfranchisement law to be unconstitutional
  - April 16, 1985 - U.S. Supreme Court rules that criminal disenfranchisement is legal if there is no racially discriminatory intent
- 2000-2019
  - November 7, 2000 - Massachusetts Voters Ban Incarcerated People with Felony Convictions from VotingMassachusetts voters ban incarcerated people with felony convictions from voting
  - March 15, 2001 - New Mexico repeals lifetime ban on disenfranchisement of people with felony convictions
  - February 14, 2002 - U.S. Senate votes down amendment granting people with felony convictions the right to vote in federal elections
  - September 25, 2003 - Alabama passes bill allowing most people with felony convictions to register to vote
  - July 1, 2003 - Nevada passes bill to automatically restore voting rights to people with felony convictions
  - March 2005 - Nebraska repeals lifetime ban of disenfranchisement of people with felony convictions
  - June 17, 2005 - Iowa restores vote to all people with felony convictions who have completed their sentences
  - July 7, 2006 - Washington District Court rules in Farrakhan v. Gregoire that state’s criminal disenfranchisement laws do not violate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act
  - April 5, 2007 - Florida Gov. Charlie Crist institutes automatic vote restoration to people with felony convictions who have completed their full sentences
  - April 26, 2007 - Maryland institutes automatic vote restoration for all people with felony convictions upon completion of sentence
  - July 26, 2007 - Washington Supreme Court reinstates fine payment as part of re-enfranchisement qualifications
  - December 2007 - Barack Obama supports re-enfranchisement of people who have completed felony sentences
  - October 27, 2008 - U.S. Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) convicted of felony and loses ability to vote
  - January 5, 2010 - 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules that Washington’s disenfranchisement law violates the Voting Rights Act
  - October 7, 2010 - Washington’s law disenfranchising people with felony convictions upheld in en banc Reversal of 9th U.S. 9th Circuit Court Decision
  - October 18, 2010 - U.S. Supreme Court declines taking up Massachusetts voting case Simmons v. Galvin
  - January 14, 2011 - Iowa rescinds automatic voting restoration for people with felony convictions who have completed their sentences
  - March 9, 2011 - Florida rescinds automatic voting restoration for people with felony convictions who have completed their sentences
  - March 19, 2012 - South Dakota enacts HB 1247, removing the right to vote from people with felony convictions until completion of probation
  - April 16, 2013 - Delaware Senate passes the Hazel D. Plant Voter Restoration Act
  - May 29, 2013 - Virginia implements automatic vote restoration to all people with nonviolent felony convictions who have completed their full sentences
  - February 11, 2014 - Attorney General Eric Holder calls for restoration of the vote to people convicted of a felony
  - November 24, 2015 - Voting rights restored to people with nonviolent felony convictions in Kentucky
  - December 22, 2015 - Kentucky governor reverses predecessor’s executive order that allowed people with nonviolent felony convictions to vote
  - February 9, 2016 - Maryland Senate restores the vote to people with felony convictions immediately upon release from prison
  - April 22, 2016 - Virginia governor restores voting rights to all people with felony convictions
  - July 22, 2016 - Virginia Supreme Court rules executive order restoring voting rights to 200,000 people who have completed felony sentences unconstitutional
  - September 28, 2016 - California governor restores voting to people with felony convictions serving time in county jails
  - July 1, 2017 - Wyoming makes voting rights restoration automatic
  - April 18, 2018 - New York Governor gives conditional pardons to people with felony convictions who are on parole to restore vote
  - May 31, 2018 - People who have completed felony sentences in Louisiana to regain voting rights after five years
  - November 7, 2018 - Florida restores the vote to up to 1.4 million people with prior felony convictions
  - May 30, 2019 - Nevada restores the vote to about 77,000 people who have completed felony sentences
  - July 1, 2019 - Colorado parolees now eligible to vote
  - December 12, 2019 - Kentucky governor restores vote to people with nonviolent felony convictions
  - December 18, 2019 - New Jersey re-enfranchises people with felony convictions on parole or probation
- 2020-present
  - January 16, 2020 - Florida Supreme Court rules people who have completed felony sentences will have to pay fines and fees before voting
  - May 24, 2020 - People who have completed felony sentences in Florida cannot be barred from voting for owing court fees, rules federal judge
  - August 5, 2020 - Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signs executive order restoring vote to some people who have completed felony sentences
  - September 11, 2020 - Appeals court upholds Florida law requiring fine and fee payment
  - September 22, 2020 - Snoop Dogg and Mike Tyson to vote for first time in November 2020 election
  - November 3, 2020 - California voters approve Proposition 17
  - March 16, 2021 - Virginia governor allows vote after prison
  - April 7, 2021 - Washington governor restores vote to those who have finished prison sentences
  - May 4, 2021 - New York Governor restores vote after prison
  - August 23, 2021 - April 6, 2022 - North Carolina voting rights in question
  - June 23, 2021 - Connecticut Governor restores vote to everyone not in prison
  - May 20, 2022 - Virginia governor restores vote to those with completed sentences
  - October 25, 2022 - 4.6 million people disenfranchised due to felony convictions
  - March 3, 2023 - Minnesota governor restores vote to those who have completed prison sentences
  - January 27, 2025 - U.S. Supreme Court declines review of Mississippi’s permanent voting with felony convictions ban
Assessment quiz
1-minute survey
Discussion questions
Sources

References & Edit History Related Topics

Images

Metal handcuffs rest on a crumpled American flag, symbolizing the intersection of criminal justice and civic rights.

Color-coded U.S. map showing state felon voting laws, from unrestricted voting in prison to possible permanent loss of voting rights; button opens a data table.

Voting with felony convictions: Media

Should people with felony convictions have their voting rights restored?

Images

Metal handcuffs rest on a crumpled American flag, symbolizing the intersection of criminal justice and civic rights.

Handcuffs on an American flag

Should people with felony convictions have their voting rights restored?

© Angelov/stock.adobe.com

Interactives

Color-coded U.S. map showing state felon voting laws, from unrestricted voting in prison to possible permanent loss of voting rights; button opens a data table.

State voting laws and policies for people with felony convictions

State-by-state voting restrictions and policies for people with felony convictions.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

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