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Prisoners fill out voter registration forms in a work-release center in Birmingham, Ala.
Commentary August 20, 2018
Jim Crow’s Lasting Legacy At The Ballot Box
Denying voting rights to people with felony convictions has roots in racist laws.
By Jennifer Rae Taylor
A color photograph of a group of Black people marching while holding signs that read “Black Voters Matter.”
Jackson April 4, 2024
How Mississippi’s Jim Crow Laws Still Haunt Black Voters Today
After the U.S. Civil War, white supremacists used felony disenfranchisement to suppress the Black vote. Even now, restoring rights has hit a roadblock.
By
An illustration shows, from left, an elephant symbolizing Republicans; simplified figures including a person stepping out with vertical bars to their right, crossed by wavy lines suggesting a flag; a woman holding a sign; a donkey symbolizing Democrats; a ballot box; and hints of barbed wire on either side of the drawing. The color scheme of the drawing is in marigold yellow, coral, blue, black and light gray.
Investigate This October 18, 2024
Journalists: How to Report on the Political Opinions of People in Prisons and Jails in Your State
More than 54,000 incarcerated people in 45 states shared their views on the presidential election in The Marshall Project’s landmark political survey.
By , , and
News June 23, 2021
Millions of People With Felonies Can Now Vote. Most Don’t Know It.
In a handful of key states, no more than 1 in 4 formerly incarcerated people registered in time for the 2020 election, a Marshall Project analysis found.
By AND
Illustration of a colorful paper airplane flying in the sky with a faint cornflower blue city skyline in the background.
Jackson Newsletter October 3, 2024
Who Wants to Be a Judge? Your Guide to the Candidates.
Seats on the state Supreme Court, appeals court and Hinds County Court are up for grabs on November’s ballot.
By The Marshall Project - Jackson
Election Commission employees tested voting machines in Memphis, Tennessee, in 2014.
News September 19, 2019
Tennessee's Voter Restoration Gauntlet
The state’s byzantine felony disenfranchisement laws keep hundreds of thousands of formerly incarcerated residents from registering to vote.
By
Jackson June 20, 2024
Mississippi Wants to Allow Some Votes From Jails and Prisons. Red Tape May Stop It.
A new state law will allow more people in jails and prisons to cast absentee ballots, but many obstacles remain.
By
From left, front row, Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison students Jacob Nolan, Bryon Brown and Edward Brown fill out the “News Inside” political opinion survey at Sing Sing Correctional Facility in Ossining, New York.
Election 2020 March 11, 2020
What Do We Really Know About the Politics of People Behind Bars?
More than 8,000 people responded to a first-of-its-kind political survey. Here is what they said.
By , Aviva Shen and
On Tuesday, Florida voters approved Amendment 4, which restored the voting rights of people with past felony convictions.
Commentary November 7, 2018
Florida’s Election Shows the True Promise of Restoring Voting Rights
With the passage of Amendment 4, more than a million people intimately affected by the criminal justice system have become more empowered to shape it.
Jennifer Rae Taylor
Prisoners at the Marble Valley Regional Correctional Facility in Rutland, Vermont, register to vote in 2008. Only two states, Vermont and Maine, allow everyone in prison to vote.
News June 11, 2019
In Just Two States, All Prisoners Can Vote. Here's Why Few Do.
In Maine and Vermont, low literacy rates and little access to information means many inmates don’t exercise their right to cast ballots.
By
An illustration shows, from left, a woman with her arm around a person who is holding a ballot; the word “Republicans”; a person with their arms in the air; a keyhole; a badge with a star on it; a person wearing a red, white and blue hat; a person with their arms out around two people confronting each other; a person speaking through a megaphone; a justice scale; and the words “Democrats” and “Independents.” The color scheme of the drawing is in marigold yellow, coral, red, blue, black and pale yellow.
Election 2024 October 17, 2024
‘Trump Remains Very Popular Here’: We Surveyed 54,000 People Behind Bars About the Election
Support for the former president is strong inside prisons and jails — even as his party tries to roll back voting rights for people with felony convictions.
By , and
Illustration of a colorful paper airplane flying in the sky with a faint cornflower blue city skyline in the background.
Jackson Newsletter July 25, 2024
Mississippi Felony Voting Ban Will Remain This November
Not being allowed to vote is not “cruel and unusual” punishment under the Constitution, an appeals court ruled.
By The Marshall Project - Jackson
Illustration of a colorful paper airplane flying in the sky with a faint cornflower blue city skyline in the background.
Jackson Newsletter September 12, 2024
Cellphone Location Privacy Win in Mississippi, for Now
Federal judges nix broad warrants for digital locations; another federal judge will decide if Mississippi’s Supreme Court election districts are fair to Black voters.
By The Marshall Project - Jackson
A photo of John Cook, a White man with gray shoulder-length hair, a gray beard, glasses and a green shirt. Cook is looking into the distance while standing outdoors under a tree.
Jackson October 1, 2024
‘A Life Sentence.’ How Mississippi’s Forever Voting Ban Keeps Thousands From the Polls.
The state’s disenfranchisement law punishes people with nonviolent offenses, as reform fails in the Legislature and courts.
By
Cook County jail detainees cast their votes after a polling place in the facility was opened for early voting on October 17 in Chicago.
News October 26, 2020
Unlocking The Vote In Jails
The majority of the 745,000 people held in local jails can vote, but few do. Advocates say it’s voter suppression on a national scale.
By and Aviva Shen
News August 5, 2015
If You Commit Murder, Do You Have the Right to Vote?
The evolving state of voting rights for prisoners.
By
Jackson Newsletter February 19, 2025
Try Our New Bill Tracking Tool
Search Mississippi criminal justice bills as they move through the legislature.
By The Marshall Project - Jackson
Illustration of a colorful paper airplane flying in the sky with a faint cornflower blue city skyline in the background.
Jackson Newsletter June 20, 2024
Mississippi Court Elections: What Do You Want to Know?
Two Mississippi Supreme Court seats and other posts are up for election on Nov. 5. What would you ask the candidates?
By The Marshall Project - Jackson
Clockwise from top left: Shakur Abdullah, Bruce Reilly, Betty McKay, Darrell Jones.
Feature November 3, 2020
After Years Behind Bars, These Folks Are #FreeToVote
Here are their stories.
By
A White man wearing a black T-shirt, a gray long-sleeved shirt and blue jeans, holds a clipboard with a voter registration form. A Black woman wearing a light gray cardigan and holding a black purse, points at the registration form as they stand at the entrance of a building. People are standing in front of them in a line.
Closing Argument October 19, 2024
Voting Rights Confusion Keeps Formerly Incarcerated People from Casting Ballots
Even when they’re eligible to vote.
By
Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael K. Randoph, left, swears in Stanley Alexander, center, to the Capitol Complex Improvement District Court on Jan. 24.
Jackson Newsletter February 6, 2025
Controversial New Court Opens in Jackson
The Capitol Complex Improvement District Court is up and running.
By The Marshall Project - Jackson
The Palm Beach County, Florida, sheriff’s office displayed stolen items recovered from a second-hand gold dealer in 2014. The threshold for felony theft in Florida is $300.
News August 9, 2017
What’s the Punishment for Theft? Depends On What State You’re In
You can go to prison in Florida for a $300 crime, but it’s $2,500 in Wisconsin.
By
Analysis December 22, 2022
Some of Our Best Work of 2022
From coverage of prison violence and abuses in a juvenile lockup to investigations by our new Cleveland team, our reporters told stories that made a difference.
By
Case in Point October 24, 2016
Which Sinners Get to Vote in Alabama?
Ex-prisoners challenge a law that lets local bureaucrats judge “moral turpitude.”
By
A Black man in a blue T-shirt covers his eyes with one hand as he stands in his front yard. A police officer, wearing protective gear with the words "FDLE Police" on it, stands left of him in the background.
News November 4, 2022
Florida’s Voter Fraud Arrests Are Scaring Away Formerly Incarcerated Voters
DeSantis made a spectacle of arresting voters with felony convictions. Now, some eligible voters are opting out of midterms even beyond Florida.
By and
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