We are a national coalition working to advance guaranteed voting rights for justice-involved Americans, including those currently and formerly incarcerated or impacted by the criminal legal system. As momentum builds to end felony disenfranchisement, a national coalition is urgently needed to provide coordination, policy support, messaging, and other resources to state advocates, organizers, and policymakers working to adopt voting rights reforms in states across the country.
The History
The United States has failed to reckon with disenfranchisement’s deep roots in the racist Jim Crow-era. When Black men gained the right to vote following the Civil War, many states enacted literacy tests, poll taxes, and expanded the number of crimes classified as a felony. Each of these barriers were intended to prevent African Americans from voting. While the federal government officially outlawed some Jim Crow-era tactics in the Voting Rights Act (1965), felony disenfranchisement laws remain with us to this day. One in 22 voting age Black Americans have lost their voting rights due to a felony conviction – 3.5 times the rate among non-Black Americans.
4 Million
4 MILLION AMERICANS ARE BARRED FROM VOTING DUE TO A FELONY CONVICTION
2M
2 MILLION AMERICANS HAVE REGAINED VOTING RIGHTS DUE TO RESTORATION EFFORTS SINCE 1997
48
48 STATES STILL DISENFRANCHISE VOTERS
56%
56% OF VOTERS SUPPORT ALL AMERICANS BEING ABLE TO VOTE REGARDLESS OF INCARCERATION STATUS
Stories
“Our partnership with the Voting in Prison Coalition resulted in national and Oregon specific polling that helped with framing for Oregon’s Guaranteeing Voting Rights Coalition. I participate regularly in national calls to share developments with state and national partners. As we get closer to ending felony disenfranchisement in Oregon, we are exploring implementation and efforts to guarantee ballot access. Our engagement with national partners offers specific information that helps us think about what happens after we win”
–Zach Winston, Policy Director, Oregon Justice Resource Center
“When I was released from prison, I knew that I had to lend my voice to the movement to end the carceral state and that restoring the voting rights of the formerly incarcerated was an essential part of that fight. Being a part of local coalitions moved the needle, but the collaboration and support of broader networks like our trusted partners at the National Voting in Prison coalition has amplified our work further and expanded our collective impact.”
- Avalon Betts-Gaston, Illinois Alliance for Reentry & Justice
“To make our movement effective and impactful, a national coalition to support voting rights for justice involved Americans requires deep partnership between local advocates and organizations working across the country. With mutual respect, shared resources, a centralized hub for information sharing, and a common vision for accomplishing our goals we can make progress on this human rights issue.”
Taina Vargas, Co-Founder, Initiate Justice
State Laws
The specifics of state laws and policies, even among states in the same category, may differ. Please use the tool below to verify your eligibility to vote.
