A majority of voting Americans support restoring voting rights to all citizens, even those with felony convictions, a recent survey concludes.
The survey revealed that 54% agree that “All citizens, regardless of if they have a felony conviction in the past, should be eligible to vote.”
The Lake Research Partners conducted the survey July 11-17, 2022 among 1,000 prospective general election voters. With inclusion of the words “completing their sentence,” 53% of independents remained in support, along with 55% of White voters and 50% of voters over 50 years of age, the Aug. 9 article said.
The story reported 34% opposed full restoration of voting rights.
Additional samples of 200 were polled in states with ongoing efforts to restore rights for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals, including Illinois, New York, Nevada, Oregon, and North Carolina.
Both the national and the state-specific polls indicated “… especially high [support] among younger voters, Black and Latino voters, voters who have a work connection (either themselves or a family member) to the criminal legal system, and voters who have a personal connection (either themselves or a family member) to being involved in the criminal legal system,” said the story.
A third of voters surveyed (34%) were not aware of their state’s law governing incarcerated people and their ability to vote. An additional third of voters (33%) were unaware of laws regarding individuals with felony convictions, the article said.
The polling was on behalf of The Sentencing Project, Common Cause, Stand Up America, and State Innovation Exchange. The margin of error was +/-3.1% and larger for subgroups.
“In conclusion, voters in the United States are ready for all citizens of this country to be eligible to vote, no matter their relationship with the criminal justice system, and including language about felony convictions does not deter voters. Even though many voters admit to not being fully aware of the laws in their states around voting rights, there is a belief across the nation that every citizen should be eligible for and have the right to vote,” said the report.
