NACDL - Additional Resources on the Criminalization of Voting

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Reports/Guides

Jail-Based Voting in the District of Columbia: A Case Study, Harvard Kennedy School Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, February 2024.
Jail-Based Voting Resources, The Sentencing Project, November 2023.
Expanding the Vote: State Felony Disenfranchisement Reform, 1997-2023, The Sentencing Project, October 2023.
Voting in New York State Jails: A Qualitative Analysis of Access, League of Women Voters of New York, June 2023.
Increasing Public Safety by Restoring Voting Rights, The Sentencing Project, April 2023.
Locked Out 2022: Estimates of People Denied Voting Rights, The Sentencing Project, October 2022.

Criminalizing the Right to Vote

Today’s criminalization of voting rights focuses on citizens who have been convicted of felony offenses. Voting laws are constantly changing, and people are understandably confused. Criminalization should not occur when mens rea is lacking. Citizens with felony convictions do not lose their right to an attorney, the right to remain silent, or the right to be protected from unreasonable searches and seizures. Why should they lose the right to vote?

What You Need to Know: Determining Someone’s Eligibility to Register and Vote Under Amendment 4 and SB 7066, Legal Defense Fund, Brennan Center for Justice, ACLU Florida, and ACLU, August 2022.
New National Poll Shows Majority Favor Guaranteed Right to Vote for All, Lake Research Partners, August 9, 2022.
Voting with a Criminal Record in Florida: Determining Someone’s Eligibility to Register and Vote Under Amendment 4 and SB 7066 (One-Pager), Legal Defense Fund, Brennan Center for Justice, ACLU Florida, and ACLU, August 2022.
Treating the Voting Booth Like a Crime Scene: The Hypercriminalization of Elections, Voting Rights Lab, April 25, 2022.
Racism & Felony Disenfranchisement: An Intertwined History, Brennan Center for Justice, May 2017.
The Politics of the Restoration of Ex-Felon Voting Rights: The Case of Iowa, Quarterly Journal of Political Science, 2015.

Databases

Search for the Crime Bills That Target Voting and Elections in Your State, Reveal, Oct 27, 2022.
New and Elevated Election-Related Crimes Since 2020 (Database of New Laws Codifying New Criminal Offenses), States Newsroom.

Defending Against the Criminalization of Voting

People with past felony convictions have been prosecuted for registering to vote, casting ballots, or seeking to register while ineligible. It seems that the purpose of these prosecutions is to intimidate eligible voters with past felony convictions and keep them away from the ballot box. Democracy needs champions to defend people who acted in good faith but are being prosecuted for violating election laws. Voting rights restoration expert Blair Bowie offers tips that may help build a strong defense.