Number of People Who Cannot Vote Due to a Felony Conviction
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In 2010 an estimated 5.85 million people in the United States (2.5% of the nation’s voting age population, excluding DC) could not vote due to a felony conviction – an increase from the 2004 total of 5.26 million and the highest number since at least 1960. 7.66% of African-Americans in the United States could not vote due to a felony conviction. In Florida 23.32% of African-Americans were disenfranchised – the highest percent in the nation.
Chart I below shows the number and percent of disenfranchised voters for the
top 10 states with the highest levels of disenfranchisement. Chart II breaks down the total numbers of disenfranchised voters for each state. Chart III shows the rise in disenfranchisement from 1960-2010.
All data below were taken from The Sentencing Project’s July 2012 report
“State-Level Estimates of Felon Disenfranchisement in the United States, 2010” (452KB)
, by Christopher Uggen, Sarah Shannon, and Jeff Manza.
 I. Top 10 States with the Highest Percentage of Disenfranchised Voters, 2010 |
| Rank | State | Number of Disenfranchised Voters |
Percent of Disenfranchised Voters |
|||
| 1 | Florida | 1,541,602 | 10.42% | |||
| 2 | Mississippi | 182,814 | 8.27% | |||
| 3 | Kentucky | 243,842 | 7.35% | |||
| 4 | Virginia | 451,471 | 7.34% | |||
| 5 | Alabama | 262,354 | 7.19% | |||
| 6 | Tennessee | 341,815 | 7.05% | |||
| 7 | Wyoming | 25,657 | 5.99% | |||
| 8 | Nevada | 86,321 | 4.24% | |||
| 9 | Arizona | 199,734 | 4.19% | |||
| 10 | Georgia | 275,866 | 3.83% |
