Does a felony record prevent 1 in 13 Black Americans from voting?
Widespread state limits on the voting rights of convicted felons--in a few states, even permanent bans--withhold the right to vote from nearly 7.5% of all Blacks, 1 in 13, according to 2014 estimates from the Sentencing Project. That compares with a "disenfranchisement rate" among non-Blacks of less than 2%.
In 2010, 33% of Black male adults had a felony conviction on record, up from 13% in 1980.
Florida voters in 2018 approved removing the state's stringent restrictions on voting by felons, which per the Sentencing Project disenfranchised 1.7 million people of all races, 10.4% of its voting-age population. In 2019 the state legislature voted to condition eligibility on complete restitution of any fines or costs associated with the felon's original conviction. A challenge to the constitutionality of that law is before a federal appeals court.
