More states appear poised to expand voting access for people who were incarcerated
State lawmakers across the country appear poised this year to continue a trend of revisiting rules for granting voting rights to people who were convicted of a felony.
In Minnesota, where Democrats last year gained full control of state government, more than 50,000 people previously convicted of a felony are expected to immediately regain voting access following legislation that was recently sent to Gov. Tim Walz's desk. The law would restore voting rights after someone is no longer in custody; currently, former inmates need to complete all parts of their sentence, including parole and probation, before getting back access to the ballot.
This is just one of many state-level efforts in the U.S. to expand voting access to people with prior convictions.
Nicole Porter is the senior director of advocacy for The Sentencing Project, a nonprofit organization that advocates for restoration of voting rights for people with prior felony convictions. She said there is a lot of "momentum" following Minnesota's measure in states with similar pending legislation.
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2023/03/01/npr-voting-rights-felony-convictions-minnesota
