felony disenfranchisement

September 9, 2020 - As states across the country gear up for the November elections, millions of formerly incarcerated people could be blocked from voting because of laws requiring them to first pay all court fines and fees. But voting rights advocates are challenging those laws — and they recently racked up a big win in North Carolina.

July 9, 2020 - States across the country require people with felony convictions to purchase their voting rights back if they ever want to cast a ballot again. It is a mechanism that felony disenfranchisement schemes increasingly rely upon, and it marks a return to the sordid tactics of Jim Crow.

December 10, 2019 - With the 2020 elections approaching, efforts to repeal laws that strip ex-felons of their voting rights are gaining momentum across the South.

August 2, 2019 - Though an amendment added to the U.S. constitution during the height of the civil rights movement prohibits poll taxes, many states continue to effectively impose them by requiring people who've completed felony prison sentences to pay fines and fees before they can register to vote.

July 14, 2017 - A ballot initiative campaign in Florida and a lawsuit against Louisiana seek to restore voting rights to people convicted of felonies after they're released from prison. The efforts are parts of a broader movement to overturn felony disenfranchisement laws rooted in white-supremacist politics.

November 4, 2016 - A report from the Sentencing Project documents how many people will be unable to vote in this election due to state laws barring people with felony convictions from voting — even after they've done their time.

November 3, 2014 - Almost six million Americans are disenfranchised due to convictions for felony offenses, and their votes could sway races in at least nine states with neck-and-neck races for U.S. Senate or governor.