Minnesota this month became the latest state to restore voting rights to ex-felons once they are released from prison. Democrats around the U.S. have been pushing to reduce or eliminate restrictions on voting, in particular fighting to extend voting rights to people on parole or probation. Many Republicans have been pushing back, arguing that rights shouldn’t be restored until all the terms of a sentence have been fulfilled, and perhaps not even then.
Some Republicans also might worry that expanding the voter pool will cost them at the polls. It turns out that any potential effects on election outcomes is small. But disenfranchising ex-felons is indefensible in a democracy.
Current law is a patchwork of state preferences. Vermont, Maine and the District of Columbia allow imprisoned felons to vote. Virginia and Kentucky impose a lifetime ban on anyone ever convicted of a felony. The other 46 states have a variety of policies, ranging from restoring voting rights as soon as people are out of prison to bans that can be overturned on a case-by-case basis. While the share of states blocking post-release felons from voting has been declining, Republicans have generally opposed these changes.
