Voting rights for felons vary widely by state: In Vermont, everyone can vote, while in Florida, a felony conviction means permanent disenfranchisement. The last six years have seen as many states make significant (if varying) reforms to loosen voting restrictions within their borders, and Maryland may soon be the seventh.
A bill at the state legislature would allow felons to vote after their parole or probation is completed. Maryland's governor vetoed the proposal, which would restore voting rights to some 63,000 people, this past summer, but in 2016 a bipartisan coalition in Annapolis is expected to muster enough votes for a veto override.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Is pop music now too reliant on gossip?Talking Point Taylor Swift's new album has prompted a flurry of speculation over who she is referring to in her songs
-
Nuclear near-missesThe Explainer From technical glitches to fateful split-second decisions, the world has come to the brink of nuclear war more times than you might think
-
What is cloud seeding and did it cause Dubai's severe rainfall?The Explainer The future is flooded
-
Trump criminal trial starts with rulings, reminderSpeed Read The first day of his historic trial over hush money payments was mostly focused on jury selection
-
Parents of school shooter sentenced to 10-15 yearsSpeed Read Jennifer and James Crumbley are the first parents to be convicted in a US mass shooting
-
Unlicensed dealers and black market gunsSpeed Read 68,000 illegally trafficked guns were sold in a five year period, said ATF
-
Bankman-Fried gets 25 years for fraudSpeed Read Former "crypto king" Sam Bankman-Fried will report to federal prison
-
Feds raid Diddy homes in alleged sex trafficking caseSpeed Read Homeland Security raided the properties of hip hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs
-
'Goon Squad' cops sentenced for torturing 2 Black menSpeed Read The former Mississippi law enforcement officers pleaded guilty last year
-
Michigan shooter's dad guilty of manslaughterspeed read James Crumbley failed to prevent his son from killing four students at Oxford High School in 2021
-
Shooting at Chiefs victory rally kills 1, injures 21Speed Read Gunfire broke out at the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl victory parade in Missouri
