Rights Restoration and the Criminalization of Voting

Over 5 million Americans are currently silenced in our democracy because of a past felony conviction. Felony disenfranchisement laws proliferated in the United States during the post-Reconstruction period as part of an intentional scheme to strip Black Americans of their freedom to vote. Today, these laws continue to disproportionately impact Black and brown voters.  

 

The rights restoration process is confusing, varies by state and is often burdensome. Beyond the 5 million Americans who cannot vote because of a past felony conviction, there are as many as 19 million Americans with felony convictions who can vote, but may not know it, because of rampant misinformation and poor administration.  

 

Campaign Legal Center has created a free, easy-to-use tool—Restore Your Vote—that has helped hundreds of thousands of Americans with past felony convictions understand their eligibility to vote. 

 

Rights restoration continues to make headlines, and as we ramp up to the 2024 presidential election it is crucial to continue working to make our democracy more equitable and inclusive.   

Next Monday, May 8^th at 1:00 PM Eastern, join Campaign Legal Center for a virtual event to discuss the recent prosecutions of people with felony convictions for good faith mistakes about eligibility to vote and examine the impact of felony disenfranchisement laws more broadly.  

During the event, our panelists will explore the nationwide impact of felony disenfranchisement and how the recent prosecutions of people with felony convictions attempting to register to vote or cast a ballot harm our democracy.

Moderated by Reporter, Sam Levine of The Guardian, the panel, made up of CLC’s Director of the Restore Your Vote project, Blair Bowie alongside Ramon de la Cabada of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NADCL) and Dawn Harrington, Executive Director of Free Hearts and Director of Special Projects for the National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls will also discuss the potential solutions at hand, including some that have already passed state legislatures.