Significance

• The ability to vote is granted by the U.S. Constitution. In many states, convicted felons are denied that right, as of 2010.
  
  

History

• The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 required U.S. Attorneys to notify each state’s chief election officer of all felony convictions in that state. Nothing in the law requires notification that felons have completed their sentences.
  
  

Significance

• Denying felons the right to vote has disenfranchised 5.3 million Americans of this constitutional right to participate in elections.
  
  

Considerations

• Due to sentencing disparities across the country, 13 percent of African-American males are denied the right to vote due to felony convictions.
  
  

State Laws

• As of 2010, 46 states and the District of Columbia deny the right to vote to incarcerated persons. Parolees are denied the right in 32 states. Those on probation are disenfranchised in 29 states, and 14 states deny for life the right of ex-felons to vote.