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sentencing project
New Sentencing Project Report Reveals 4 Million Americans Denied Voting Rights Due to Felony Convictions
‘Locked Out 2024’ highlights persistent racial disparities and the nationwide impact of felony voting bans
Oct 10, 2024
A new report from The Sentencing Project, “Locked Out 2024: Estimates of People Denied Voting Rights Due to a Felony Conviction” found that 4 million Americans will be unable to vote in the upcoming 2024 election due to felony disenfranchisement laws. Despite recent reforms in several states that have reduced disenfranchisement rates, the report underscores the continued exclusion of millions of Americans from the democratic process.
“Felony disenfranchisement remains a critical barrier to full civic participation, particularly for communities of color. Seventy percent of voting-age Americans who are banned from voting are currently living in their communities, without a voice in the policies and laws that shape their lives,” said Kara Gotsch, Executive Director of The Sentencing Project. “Despite progress in many states, felony disenfranchisement echoes policies of the past, like poll taxes and literacy tests. Felony voting bans keep communities that have been historically unheard and under-resourced from having equal representation in our democracy. It’s time to guarantee voting rights for all, including those with felony convictions, to create a truly inclusive democracy.”
The report also found that:
- Since 2016, the number of disenfranchised people has declined by 31% as more states implement policies to restore voting rights, but significant barriers remain, particularly for individuals unable to pay court-ordered fines and fees.
- One in 22 African Americans of voting age is disenfranchised, a rate more than three times that of non-African Americans. More than 10% of African American citizens are barred from voting in five states—Arizona, Florida, Kentucky, South Dakota and Tennessee.
- Approximately 496,000 Latino Americans are disenfranchised, with over 5% of Latino voters in Arizona and Tennessee affected by felony voting bans. Latino voters are disenfranchised at higher rates than the general population in 28 states.
- Approximately 764,000 women are barred from voting due to felony convictions, making up just under 20% of the disenfranchised population. 56% of women who are disenfranchised have completed their sentences.
- Florida and Tennessee lead the nation in disenfranchisement rates, with more than 6% of their adult populations unable to vote, due to a felony conviction.
“The Locked Out 2024 report underscores a harsh reality: our nation remains ensnared by the remnants of Jim Crow through the practice of felony disenfranchisement. Black and Brown communities bear the brunt of felony voting bans, further perpetuating the persistent racial inequities that plague our country,” said Nicole D. Porter, Senior Director of Advocacy at The Sentencing Project.
“As we approach another critical election, millions of citizens are still excluded from participating in the democratic process. If America truly wants to live up to its promise as the beacon on the hill of democracy, it’s time to ensure we’re living up to these ideals. Guaranteeing that every voting-age citizen has a voice in shaping our future is essential to building a more inclusive and equitable society.”
“The Locked Out 2024 report highlights the urgent need for reforms that go beyond piecemeal state-level changes,” said Christopher Uggen, co-author of the report. “Millions of Americans—disproportionately from marginalized communities—are barred from voting, representing a profound failure of our democratic system. If we are serious about creating a truly inclusive democracy, we need to make voting rights for people with felony convictions a national priority.”
The report "Locked Out 2024: Estimates of People Denied Voting Rights Due to a Felony Conviction" updates and expands on research The Sentencing Project has released on a biennial basis since 1998, analyzing the scope of felony disenfranchisement, as well as the state-level laws that ban people with previous felony convictions from voting.
The report is co-authored by Christopher Uggen (University of Minnesota), Ryan Larson (Hamline University), Sarah Shannon (University of Georgia), Robert Stewart (University of Maryland), and Molly Hauf (Hamline University).
The Sentencing Project will host a webinar offering a deeper analysis of the report on Wednesday, October 16 at 2:00 pm ET. Panelists include co-author of the report Christopher Uggen, and formerly incarcerated criminal legal reform and voting rights advocates Desmond Meade, Justin Allen, and Kemba Smith.
The full report is available here. Media interviews with The Sentencing Project are available upon request.
Left to Die in Prison: Emerging Adults 25 and Younger Sentenced to Life without Parole
New study finds 2 in 5 people were 25 and younger when sentenced to LWOP
Jun 07, 2023
Today, The Sentencing Project released a report that finds a large portion of people sentenced to die in prison were emerging adults 25 and younger when sentenced to life without parole (LWOP), despite irrefutable evidence that their younger age contributes to diminished capacity to comprehend the risk and consequences of their actions.
“Our criminal legal system relies on an outdated and unscientific view that brain development is complete at age 18,” said Ashley Nellis, Co-Director of Research at The Sentencing Project and lead author of today’s report. Left to Die in Prison: Emerging Adults 25 and Younger Sentenced to Life without Parole finds that the peak age at conviction for people sentenced to LWOP was 23-years-old, falling well within the period of emerging adulthood. “Emerging adults share many key developmental characteristics with adolescents under age 18. Despite their serious crimes, these individuals have tremendous potential for growth and opportunity.”
The Sentencing Project analyzed nearly 30,000 life-without-parole (LWOP) sentences imposed over a 22-year period in 20 states, comprising approximately 70% of the total LWOP population. The study found:
- Two in five people sentenced to LWOP were 25 and younger at the time of their sentence, amounting to more than 11,000 people sentenced over this period.
- The peak age at conviction for people sentenced to LWOP was 23-years-old, falling well within the period of emerging adulthood.
- Two-thirds of those sentenced to LWOP as emerging adults were Black, revealing that being young and Black appears to be associated with a greater likelihood of receiving LWOP than the trends we observe among older people sentenced to LWOP.
U.S. courts have ruled that people under 18 should be protected against the cruelest sentences because of limits in their brain development. The report authors recommend extending this understanding to the full class of individuals who fall into this stage of development. Specifically, we recommend that the U.S. eliminate the use of LWOP and impose a sentence cap at 15 years for people 25 and younger.
Read the full report here.
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The Sentencing Project Condemns Passage of House Bill Expanding Mandatory Minimums
May 25, 2023
Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl (HALT) Act (H.R. 467). The bill expands mandatory minimums for fentanyl analogue cases and permanently schedules all fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I, without first testing them for benefits or harm. Unlike other permanent scheduling bills considered by Congress this session, the HALT Fentanyl Act also includes no “offramp” provisions that would permit analogues to be descheduled if they are later found to be harmless or inert.
Fentanyl analogues are substances which appear to be chemically similar to fentanyl. Some fentanyl analogues have little to no addictive potential. Currently, fentanyl analogues are criminalized via the Federal Analogue Act, which requires that prosecutors establish that a fentanyl analogue is substantially similar to a controlled substance in order to secure a conviction. Fentanyl is currently a Schedule II controlled substance.
Sentencing Reform Counsel Liz Komar issued the following statement:
“By passing this bill, the House has signaled that Congress is entering a new carceral era. The federal prison population has been on the rise since the beginning of the Biden administration after seven years of decline. The passage of the HALT Fentanyl Act would deepen that trend by doubling down on failed drug policies that prioritize prisons over drug treatment and overwhelmingly harm Black and Brown communities.
If mandatory minimums and harsh sentences made communities safer, the overdose crisis would not have occurred. We urge the Senate to reject this bill and all expansions of mandatory minimums and reverse this punitive trend.
President Biden must condemn today’s House action and promise to veto the HALT Fentanyl Act. During his campaign for president, Biden promised to oppose mandatory minimum sentences and significantly reduce the prison population.
This year marks 50 years of mass incarceration in America and the highest death toll of the overdose crisis yet. We urge President Biden and Congress to take meaningful action to undo both.”
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New Report: 4.6 million Americans barred from voting due to felony convictions
Draconian state laws will prevent 4.6 million Americans from voting in 2022 midterms
Oct 25, 2022
Today, The Sentencing Project released a new report which found that 4.6 million people, or one in every 50 adults, will be barred from voting in the 2022 midterms due to a felony conviction. Three out of four of the people disenfranchised are living in their communities, having fully completed their sentences or remaining supervised while on probation or parole.
"While many states have taken steps to expand the right to vote to people with felony convictions, this report makes it clear that millions of our citizens will remain voiceless in the upcoming midterms," said Amy Fettig, Executive Director of The Sentencing Project. "Felony disenfranchisement is just the latest in a long line of attempts to restrict ballot access, just like poll taxes, literacy tests and property requirements were used in the past. It is time for our country to guarantee the right to vote for people with felony convictions."
The report also found that:
- One in 19 African Americans of voting age is disenfranchised, a rate 3.5 times greater than that of non-African Americans.
- More than one in 10 African American adults is disenfranchised in eight states - Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Virginia.
- Although data on ethnicity in correctional populations are still unevenly reported, the report conservatively estimates that at least 506,000 Latinx Americans or - or 1.7 percent of the voting eligible population - are disenfranchised.
- Approximately 1,000,000 women are disenfranchised, comprising over one-fifth of the total disenfranchised population.
"Despite state-level reforms and the hard work of voting rights advocates, millions of Americans remain disenfranchised, representing 2% of the voting eligible population," said Christopher Uggen, co-author of the report. "In this election year, the question of specific voting restrictions, the broader issue of voter suppression, and the disproportionate impact on marginalized communities, should be front and center on the public agenda."
The report also found that although half of U.S. states have scaled back voting restrictions for people with felony convictions, several others - particularly Southeastern states - have retained such restrictions, and their disenfranchised populations have increased commensurate with the expansion of the criminal legal system.
"The fact that one out of every 50 adults is disenfranchised due to a felony conviction is unacceptable," said Nicole D. Porter, Senior Director of Advocacy of The Sentencing Project. "Recent polling clearly shows that the majority of Americans who are likely voters support guaranteeing voting rights for all justice-impacted citizens. It's time for lawmakers to listen to the will of their constituents."
The report, "Locked Out 2022: Estimates of People Denied Voting Rights Due to a Felony Conviction," updates and expands on research The Sentencing Project released in 2020 analyzing the scope of felony disenfranchisement, as well as the state-level distribution of laws that ban people with previous felony convictions from voting.
The report is co-authored by Christopher Uggen (University of Minnesota), Ryan Larson (Hamline University), Sarah Shannon (University of Georgia), and Robert Stewart (University of Maryland).
The full report is available here.
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