Felony disenfranchisement is the loss of voting rights because of a felony conviction. Rules vary widely by state. Maine, Vermont and Washington, D.C., let people vote even while in prison. Other states restore rights after release, after parole or probation, or only through a governor's pardon or a court process.
Many of these laws were expanded after the Civil War as Southern states sought to block Black men from voting. Lawmakers targeted crimes they believed Black people were more likely to be charged with. In Richardson v. Ramirez (1974), the Supreme Court held that the 14th Amendment allows states to disenfranchise people with felony convictions. In Hunter v. Underwood (1985), it struck down an Alabama provision because it was adopted with intent to discriminate by race.
In 2024, about 4 million Americans could not vote because of a felony conviction, according to the Sentencing Project. One in 22 Black adults of voting age was disenfranchised, more than three times the rate of other Americans. Florida voters restored rights to most people with felony convictions in 2018 with Amendment 4, but a 2019 law required them to first pay all court fines and fees.