New Sentencing Project report on reform of felony disenfranchisement laws

Via e-mail I received today a notice about this new report from The Sentencing Project, as well as this summary description of its contents:

Since 1997, 800,000 persons have regained the right to vote as a result of felony disenfranchisement reform in 23 states, according to Expanding the Vote: State Felony Disenfranchisement Reform 1997-2010.

The report has found that:

• Nine states either repealed or amended lifetime disenfranchisement laws; 
• Three states expanded voting rights to persons under community supervision (probation and parole); 
• Eight states eased the restoration process for persons seeking to have their right to vote restored after completing sentence; and 
• Three states improved data and information sharing.

State legislation and/or litigation efforts have impacted state disenfranchisement policies by way of amending current laws, easing restoration policies, and lifting bans on probationers or parolees.

Reforms highlighted in the report include:

• Rhode Island's repeal of a state prohibition on voting for persons on probation and parole resulted in the restoration of voting rights to more than 15,000 individuals; 
• Maryland's repeal of its lifetime prohibition on voting for persons who have completed their sentence resulted in the restoration of voting rights for more than 52,000 persons; 
• Connecticut's repeal of its ban on voting for persons on probation extended the right to vote to more than 33,000 citizens; and 
• New Mexico's repeal of its lifetime disenfranchisement provision restored the right to vote to more than 69,000 individuals.