The U.S. is the only democracy in the world that disenfranchises people who have
completed their sentences.
One in forty-one adults has currently
or permanently lost the right to vote as a result of a felony conviction. A citizen convicted of a felony can run for president of the United States but can't vote in Virginia. Many countries allow prisoners to vote: Canada, Denmark, Israel, Peru, South Africa,
Zimbabwe and more! Only two states -Maine and Vermont- allow
prisoners to vote. (Puerto Rico also allows inmates to vote) In
Washington state, a former felon's ability to vote is based not on the crime nor the amount of prison time; but on their
ability to pay a fine. In five states that deny the vote to
former felons, one in four black men is permanently disenfranchised. Nearly 600,000 veterans are denied the right to vote by state felony disenfranchisement laws. | 
