
In 2016 an estimated 6.1 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 of 4.2% from the 2010 total of 5.85 million and the highest number since at least 1960.
7.44% of African Americans in the United States could not vote due to a felony conviction in 2016. In Kentucky 26.15% of African Americans were disenfranchised – the highest percentage in all US states. Florida had the highest total (1,686,318) and per capita (10.43%) disenfranchised population of all US states.
- Top 10 states with the highest levels of disenfranchisement
- Disenfranchised voters for each state
- Disenfranchisement from 1960-2016
All data were taken from The Sentencing Project’s Oct. 2016 report “6 Million Lost Voters: State-Level Estimates of Felony Disenfranchisement, 2016” by Christopher Uggen, Ryan Larson, and Sarah Shannon.
Top 10 States with the Highest % of Disenfranchised Voters, 2016
Rank | State | Total Disenfranchised | Percent Disenfranchised |
1 | Florida | 1,686,318 | 10.43% |
2 | Mississippi | 218,181 | 9.63% |
3 | Kentucky | 312,046 | 9.14% |
4 | Tennessee | 421,227 | 8.26% |
5 | Virginia | 508,680 | 7.81% |
6 | Alabama | 286,266 | 7.62% |
7 | Wyoming | 23,847 | 5.33% |
8 | Arizona | 221,170 | 4.25% |
9 | Nevada | 89,267 | 4.02% |
10 | Georgia | 248,751 | 3.23% |
Disenfranchised Voters by State, 2016
Squares containing only the number 0 indicate that the state did not disenfranchise those population groups in 2016.
For the current laws on felon voting in each state, please see our chart on State Felon Voting Laws.
State | Prison | Parole | Felony Probation | Jail | Post- Sentence | Total | Voting Age Population | Percent |
Alabama | 30,585 | 6,580 | 15,626 | 1,578 | 231,896 | 286,266 | 3,755,483 | 7.62% |
Alaska | 5,497 | 2,035 | 6,900 | 7 | 0 | 14,439 | 552,166 | 2.61% |
Arizona | 44,509 | 7,241 | 51,362 | 1,341 | 116,717 | 221,170 | 5,205,215 | 4.25% |
Arkansas | 19,224 | 21,811 | 24,695 | 975 | 0 | 66,705 | 2,272,904 | 2.93% |
California | 136,302 | 86,254 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 222,557 | 30,023,902 | 0.74% |
Colorado | 21,207 | 8,673 | 0 | 1,066 | 0 | 30,946 | 4,199,509 | 0.74% |
Connecticut | 14,926 | 2,419 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17,345 | 2,826,827 | 0.61% |
Delaware | 6,858 | 716 | 4,074 | 0 | 4,067 | 15,716 | 741,548 | 2.12% |
Florida | 102,555 | 4,208 | 86,886 | 4,822 | 1,487,847 | 1,686,318 | 16,166,143 | 10.43% |
Georgia | 50,900 | 23,545 | 170,194 | 4,112 | 0 | 248,751 | 7,710,688 | 3.23% |
Hawaii | 6,364 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6,364 | 1,120,770 | 0.57% |
Idaho | 7,873 | 5,057 | 9,863 | 314 | 0 | 23,106 | 1,222,093 | 1.89% |
Illinois | 47,537 | 0 | 0 | 2,089 | 0 | 49,625 | 9,901,322 | 0.50% |
Iowa | 9,127 | 6,133 | 12,365 | 410 | 23,976 | 52,012 | 2,395,103 | 2.17% |
Indiana | 28,028 | 0 | 0 | 1,630 | 0 | 29,658 | 5,040,224 | 0.59% |
Kansas | 9,466 | 4,023 | 3,426 | 679 | 0 | 17,594 | 2,192,084 | 0.80% |
Kentucky | 22,968 | 16,729 | 27,323 | 2,039 | 242,987 | 312,046 | 3,413,425 | 9.14% |
Louisiana | 35,614 | 31,450 | 37,761 | 3,211 | 0 | 108,035 | 3,555,911 | 3.04% |
Maine | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,072,948 | 0.00% |
Maryland | 20,378 | 0 | 0 | 1,087 | 0 | 21,465 | 4,658,175 | 0.46% |
Massachusetts | 10,254 | 0 | 0 | 921 | 0 | 11,176 | 5,407,335 | 0.21% |
Michigan | 42,661 | 0 | 0 | 1,560 | 0 | 44,221 | 7,715,272 | 0.57% |
Minnesota | 11,369 | 8,148 | 43,215 | 608 | 0 | 63,340 | 4,205,207 | 1.51% |
Mississippi | 13,752 | 8,051 | 28,463 | 1,422 | 166,494 | 218,181 | 2,265,485 | 9.63% |
Missouri | 32,768 | 16,808 | 38,870 | 1,219 | 0 | 89,665 | 4,692,196 | 1.91% |
Montana | 3,816 | 0 | 0 | 330 | 0 | 4,146 | 806,529 | 0.51% |
North Carolina | 37,446 | 10,977 | 40,867 | 1,888 | 0 | 91,179 | 7,752,234 | 1.18% |
North Dakota | 2,042 | 0 | 0 | 136 | 0 | 2,178 | 583,001 | 0.37% |
Nebraska | 6,377 | 782 | 2,952 | 384 | 7,069 | 17,564 | 1,425,853 | 1.23% |
Nevada | 11,560 | 6,828 | 8,097 | 701 | 62,080 | 89,267 | 2,221,681 | 4.02% |
New Hampshire | 2,856 | 0 | 0 | 175 | 0 | 3,031 | 1,066,610 | 0.28% |
New Jersey | 19,964 | 14,831 | 58,123 | 1,396 | 0 | 94,315 | 6,959,192 | 1.36% |
New Mexico | 7,205 | 2,838 | 13,352 | 891 | 0 | 24,286 | 1,588,201 | 1.53% |
New York | 50,513 | 44,590 | 0 | 2,477 | 0 | 97,581 | 15,584,974 | 0.63% |
Ohio | 51,102 | 0 | 0 | 1,736 | 0 | 52,837 | 8,984,946 | 0.59% |
Oklahoma | 27,857 | 2,572 | 26,475 | 1,398 | 0 | 58,302 | 2,950,017 | 1.98% |
Oregon | 14,228 | 0 | 0 | 519 | 0 | 14,748 | 3,166,121 | 0.47% |
Pennsylvania | 49,269 | 0 | 0 | 3,705 | 0 | 52,974 | 10,112,229 | 0.52% |
Rhode Island | 3,355 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3,355 | 845,254 | 0.40% |
South Carolina | 20,141 | 4,621 | 21,464 | 1,011 | 0 | 47,238 | 3,804,558 | 1.24% |
South Dakota | 3,464 | 2,643 | 4,114 | 170 | 0 | 10,392 | 647,145 | 1.61% |
Tennessee | 29,271 | 13,186 | 52,654 | 2,763 | 323,354 | 421,227 | 5,102,688 | 8.26% |
Texas | 161,658 | 111,632 | 216,033 | 6,605 | 0 | 495,928 | 20,257,343 | 2.45% |
Utah | 6,925 | 0 | 0 | 744 | 0 | 7,669 | 2,083,423 | 0.37% |
Vermont | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 506,119 | 0.00% |
Virginia | 38,694 | 1,604 | 56,908 | 2,905 | 408,570 | 508,680 | 6,512,571 | 7.81% |
Washington | 18,395 | 3,811 | 25,164 | 1,182 | 0 | 48,552 | 5,558,509 | 0.87% |
West Virginia | 7,042 | 3,187 | 4,109 | 389 | 0 | 14,727 | 1,464,532 | 1.01% |
Wisconsin | 22,851 | 19,537 | 22,101 | 1,118 | 0 | 65,606 | 4,476,711 | 1.47% |
Wyoming | 2,536 | 607 | 3,148 | 141 | 17,414 | 23,847 | 447,212 | 5.33% |
US TOTALS: | 1,329,288 | 504,127 | 1,116,585 | 63,855 | 3,092,471 | 6,106,327 | 247,219,588 | 2.47% |
Disenfranchised Voters, 1960-2016

In 1960, the number of voters who were disenfranchised due to a felony conviction was 1,762,582. By the late 1970s this number dropped 33% to 1,176,234, but then began to rise.
By 2016 the number of people who lost the vote due to a felony conviction had grown to 6,106,327.