States That Bar Ex-Offenders from Voting

Did you know that these states bar Ex-Offenders from Voting?

AlabamaArizonaDelawareFlorida IowaKentuckyMarylandMississippiNevadaNew MexicoTennesseeVirginia WashingtonWyomingTexas

Alabama has disenfranchised 241,000 people, more than 40 percent of whom (105,000) are black men. Nearly one out of three black men in the state has lost the right to vote (31.5 percent). The right to vote can only be restored by a pardon from the governor. In 1996 and 1997, only 359 people were able to regain the ability to vote.

Arizona has disenfranchised 74,600 adults, or 2.3 percent of the adult population. But the rate is five times higher for black men, of whom 12.1 percent have lost the right to vote. First offenders have their right to vote restored automatically after they complete their sentence. Offenders who have been convicted of more than one offense can only get the right to vote back by waiting at least two years after release from prison and applying to the court or by obtaining a pardon from the governor.

Delaware has disenfranchised more than 20,000 people, or 3.7 percent of the population. Of those, 8,700 are black men. One in five adult black men cannot vote in the state of Delaware. The only way they can regain their voting rights is to obtain a pardon from the governor.

Florida has disenfranchised more people than any other state in the country - 647,100 people.

This constitutes a rate of 5.9 percent of the adult population, which is three times the national average. Florida also has taken the vote away from more black men than any other state in the country - 204,600 people. Nearly one-third of all the disenfranchised people in the state are black men. More than two-thirds of these disenfranchised people have already served their time and been released from prison, or finished their probation or parole. If they want their voting rights back, they need to obtain a gubernatorial order restoring their civil rights, or they must obtain a pardon.

Iowa has disenfranchised more than one in four black men, or 26.5 percent. In total, 42,300 adults have been disenfranchised, and 60 percent of them are not in prison. Only the governor can restore their voting rights.

Kentucky has disenfranchised 0.8 percent of the adult population, including 7.7 percent of the state's black men, because they are currently under correctional supervision. The state also disenfranchises ex-offenders, but those figures are not available. Of the disenfranchised people in the state, 29 percent are black men. Only the governor can restore the right to vote.

Maryland is one of four states in which black men comprise more than half of all disenfranchised people. Of the total adult black male population in Maryland, 15.4 percent cannot vote, or 67,900 people. Of the total adult population, 3.6 percent have lost the vote, which is double the national average. First offenders regain the right to vote automatically, but second offenders do not. They need a pardon from the governor.

Mississippi has disenfranchised 145,600 people. More than half of the disenfranchised (81,700) are black men, representing 28.6 percent of the black men in the state. Convicted felons can regain the right to vote through a pardon or executive order of the governor, or if the state legislature passes a bill, and the governor signs it, restoring their voting rights.
Nevada has disenfranchised 10 percent of the black men in the state, or 4,000 people, because they are currently under correctional supervision. The state also disenfranchises ex-offenders, but those figures are not available. One out of four of the currently disenfranchised people in the state are black men. They can regain the vote through various administrative procedures, or by a pardon from the governor.

New Mexico has disenfranchised one out of four black men. Four percent of the adult population has lost the right to vote, or 48,900 people. Of these, 38,000 have completed their sentences, or nearly 80 percent. Convicted felons can only regain the vote if they obtain a pardon or restoration of rights from the governor.

Tennessee has disenfranchised 97,800 people, or 2.4 percent of the adult population. More than half of these are people who have already served their time and been released. Nearly two-fifths of them are black men (39 percent), and 14.5 percent of all black men in the state cannot vote. People who were convicted before 1986 can only get their voting rights back by petitioning the court, while most of those convicted after 1986 get their rights back automatically.

Virginia has disenfranchised 269,800 adults, or 5.3 percent of the total population, which is more than twice the national average. Eighty percent of those people have already completed their sentences. More than forty percent of them are black men. One out of four black men in Virginia cannot vote, or 110,000 people. Convicted felons may apply to the governor to restore their voting rights five years after they've completed their sentences. In 1996 and 1997, a total of 404 ex-offenders had their voting rights restored.

Washington has disenfranchised 16,700 black men, or one out of four black men in the state. Ex-offenders convicted prior to July 1, 1984 remain disenfranchised unless they receive a pardon. After 1984, convicted felons lose the vote while in prison, on probation, or on parole.
Wyoming has disenfranchised 4 percent of the state's adults --14,100 people --which is a rate twice the national average. More than one in four black men (27.7 percent) in Wyoming is barred from voting. Three-quarters of the state's disenfranchised adults are ex-offenders who have completed their criminal sentences. The right to vote can only be restored by the governor.

Texas is not one of the fourteen states that permanently disenfranchises ex-offenders. But it does bar ex-offenders from voting for two years following completion of their sentence. Texas has the second highest number of disenfranchised people in the country: 610,000 adults, or 4.5 percent of its adult population, twice the national average. One quarter of those people are black. Twenty percent of the black men in the state cannot vote.