An estimated four million Americans cannot vote in the November 5, 2024 presidential election because of a felony conviction. That’s the word from the Sentencing Project, a nonprofit organization based in Washington D.C., which conducts research and advocacy efforts working to change public perceptions about crime and punishment.
In a study released October 10, researchers revealed a 31% drop in the number felons who cannot vote in this country since 2016, which amounted to 5.9 million Americans who were disenfranchised. And that rate is higher in the South. In Louisiana, for example, the state loses more than 1% of the voting-eligible population because of felony convictions. As Kat Stromquist with the Gulf States Newsroom reports, Ryan Larson, a criminology professor at Hamline University laments. “Still, you know, over four million people barred from access to the franchises of election day 2024, which is still a good chunk of people.”
Larson says this mostly affects people who aren’t locked up. They’re in their communities. “You know, they’re sending their kids to public education institutions and yet they don’t have a say in what, how local institutions are run for them.”
In Louisiana, a new law took effect on March 1, 2019, which allows a convicted felon who has completed their sentence over five years ago to register to vote, even if they’re still serving probation or parole. Every state has its own restrictions. Formerly incarcerated organizer Charles Amos says there are plenty of people like him who can register. "When we run across people who say, I've been convicted, [I say] so have I. Here's how you can register to vote, may I ask you a couple of questions?" With the group Voice of the Experienced (VOTE), he works to tell people about their rights. But he says it can be a struggle to get people on board. “They say that ‘hey man, they’re gonna do what they want to do anyway. ‘My vote don’t count.’”
But Amos is serious about political engagement. He even ran for office. “So, I want to show guys who are formerly incarcerated, hey man – the world is ours. We just have to step into it.”
