Disenfranchisement of People with Felony Convictions
Laws in 48 states and the District of Columbia deny voting rights from some citizens who have been convicted of felonies. The variety of offenses that fits into this category is very broad and includes writing a bad check and injury to a racehorse. As a result of these policies, 4.7 million people with felony convictions are disfranchised.
Learn more about the Disenfranchisement of People With Felony Convictions
(This issue paper was created by the National Network for Election Reform, the largest national coalition dedicated to improving election administration at the federal, state and local level.)
Recent News
April 5, 2007: Today, the Florida State Clemency Board, made up of Gov. Charlie Crist and members of the Florida Cabinet, voted 3-1 to allow most people with felony convictions to regain the right to vote.
Under the new rules, the roughly 80 percent of ex-offenders whose crimes were not considered violent will win automatic rights restoration after the state makes sure they have paid any restitution to victims and have no pending criminal charges. This will affect some 950,000 ex-felons in the state.
Previously, most felons who finished prison and probation time had to submit to a lengthy review by the clemency board, which only meets a few times a year and a waiting period if they wanted to regain the right to vote. Sometimes an investigation and hearing are required as well.
March 15, 2006: Today, at the urging of voting rights advocates, Governor Rendell vetoed H.B. 1318, an omnibus election bill. The original legislation was intended to expand voting rights for overseas military personnel, but opponents in the House quickly high-jacked the bill and added provisions to require photo identification and roll back voting rights for citizens with felony convictions.
A subset of the Pennsylvania Voter Coalition, Protect Our Vote, worked for several months to defeat HB 1318, an omnibus election bill. A broad and diverse coalition of organizations, led by advocates for the homeless and ex-offenders and including the AARP, the ACLU, the League of Young Voters, Common Cause Pennsylvania, League of Women Voters, and the Committee of Seventy, quickly came together to discuss statewide strategies for defeating HB 1318. Although HB 1318 passed both houses with the identification provisions, Protect Our Vote was successful in swaying additional “no” votes from members of the House and Senate and ultimately secured a veto from Governor Rendell.
Read our letter to Governor Rendell here.
Read H.R. 1318 here.
January 8, 2005: The Lawyers’ Committee has been a leader in the nation wide fight to provide people with former felony offenders an equal opportunity to participate in the franchise. Today, we filed a friend of the court brief in Muntaqim v. Coombe, urging the court to protect the constitutional rights of all rehabilitated New Yorkers.
Read our amicus brief here.