Locked Out 2024
Four million Americans will be unable to vote in the upcoming 2024 election due to felony disenfranchisement laws, according to a new report by The Sentencing Project.
Felony voting bans keep communities that have been historically unheard and under-resourced from having equal representation in our democracy. It’s time to guarantee voting rights for all, including those with felony convictions, to create a truly inclusive democracy.
Key Publications
Expanding the Vote in Nebraska, Colorado, and more!
Nebraska passed legislation to expand voting rights to over 7,000 people with felony convictions and Colorado state partners are working to expand in-person voting to every jail in the state. Learn how The Sentencing Project works in partnership with coalitions and directly impacted people across the country to expand voting rights for all.
State-Specific Voting Rights Reports
In 2022, 4.4 million Americans were banned from voting due to a felony conviction. The Sentencing Project is committed to expanding voting rights in every state and works with state partners to provide specific data on state felony disenfranchisement.
Anytime a member of a society is not afforded the right to express his or her opinions by way of the democratic process, we cannot achieve the ideals of democracy.
Testimony in Support of California Bill to Expand Voting Access to County Jails
Bob Libal testifies in support of California’s Assembly Bill 544, which would provide grants to three counties to place polling locations in county jails and improve access for people detained to exercise their voting rights.
Unlocking the Ballot: Using Data to Expand Voting Rights
This webinar discusses how academics and advocates are using data and research to advance voting rights campaigns. We look at what the data shows as effective ways to engage justice-impacted communities and emerging areas of research.
Voting Rights
Effective democracy requires universal voting access and guaranteed voting rights for all citizens. Laws that ban people with felony convictions from voting, or policies that undermine voting by incarcerated people eligible to vote, harm our democracy and the millions of citizens who are excluded from it. These voting bans have disproportionately diluted the political power of Black and brown communities. Help us end voting restrictions for people with felony convictions by sharing these facts on social media.
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4.4 million
Americans are banned from voting due to felony convictions.
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48 states
bar people from voting in prison. Only Maine, Vermont, Washington DC, and Puerto Rico allow voting in prison.
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1 in 19
voting-age Black Americans have lost their voting rights due to a felony conviction—3.5 times the rate among non-Black Americans.
Join the movement to expand voting rights for all
Help us apply political and legal pressure to ensure that a person’s criminal legal system involvement does not influence their voting eligibility or lead to other permanent exclusions and limitations from civic life.
