Over 5 million Americans are currently silenced in our democracy because of a past felony conviction. This level of disenfranchisement is a product of legislation enacted during the Reconstruction period which intentionally sought to strip Black Americans of their newfound freedom. Today, these laws continue to disproportionately impact Black and brown voters. The rights restoration process is confusing, varies by state and is often burdensome. Beyond the 5 million Americans who cannot vote because of a past felony conviction, there are as many as 19 million Americans with felony convictions who can vote, but may not know it, because of rampant misinformation and poor administration.
Check out Campaign Legal Center's free, easy-to-use tool—Restore Your Vote—that has helped hundreds of thousands of Americans with past felony convictions understand their eligibility to vote.
Panelists: Blair Bowie Director of Campaign Legal Center's Restore Your Vote project; Dawn Harrington of Free Hearts; Ramon "Ray" de la Cabada, co-chair of NACDL's Criminalization of Voting Rights Committee; and moderated by The Guardian's Sam Levine, a national reporter covering voting rights in the US
