The right to vote in the US relies on two requirements, being a citizen and being older than 18.
And while it might be harder or easier to register to vote or cast a ballot depending on the state, there’s only one way someone can lose the right to vote entirely, and that’s through a felony conviction.
More than 1.2 million people were in prison[1] in the US in 2020, according to data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics. More than 99% of these prisoners lost their right to vote while incarcerated. But what happens to someone’s voting rights after serving a prison sentence depends entirely on the state where they were convicted. In some states, their voting rights are restored after they are released from prison. In other places, they may permanently lose their rights.
