Number of Americans who were forbidden from casting ballots in 1976 due to state laws restricting voting rights for people convicted of felony crimes: 1.17 million
In 1996: 3.34 million
Today: 6.1 million
Portion of those disenfranchised who are currently incarcerated: less than 1/4
Number of states where more than 7 percent of the population is disenfranchised because of such laws: 6
Of those 6 states, percent in the South: 100*
Rank of Florida's disenfranchisement rate among all the states: 1
Percent of the disenfranchised population nationally represented by Florida alone: 27
Total number of Floridians who've been disenfranchised because of felony convictions: nearly 1.5 million
Number of votes that separated presidential candidates George W. Bush and Al Gore in Florida in 2000: 537
Portion of African Americans nationally who've been disenfranchised because of such laws: 1 in 13
Number of states where more than 1 in 5 African Americans has been disenfranchised: 4
Of those 4 states, percent in the South: 100**
Year in which the Alabama legislature eased the voting rights restoration process after people not convicted of a crime of "moral turpitude" complete their sentence: 2016
If state laws were changed to restore voting rights for people on probation or parole who are currently supervised in their communities — principles most Americans endorse — percent of those currently disenfranchised whose voting rights would be restored: 77
* Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee and Virginia.
** Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia.
(Click on figure to go to source. The numbers in this index are from "6 Million Lost Voters: State-Level Estimates of Felony Disenfranchisement, 2016" by The Sentencing Project.)
